"He seemed very relaxed" - Amir Khan recalls Canelo Alvarez fight ahead of Dmitry Bivol clash
Amir Khan made an appearance on DAZN's Road to Greatness about Canelo Alvarez ahead of his matchup with Dmitry Bivol on Saturday.
The boxer discussed how his game plan fell apart when he faced Alvarez in the ring in their fight in 2016:
"Normally I can take people off guard and put them on the back foot, but with Canelo he seemed very relaxed."
Khan, known for his speed and agility, was no match for Alvarez when the two fought. Their clash ended with the infamous picture of Khan lying flat on his back in the ring after taking a brutal knockout punch to the jaw.
Eddie Hearn added:
"You've got the famous image of Canelo Alvarez kneeling over Amir Khan, almost praying to God that he'll be okay."
Canelo Alvarez is known to be a fantastic counterpuncher. Amir's strategy in that fight unfortunately played into Alvarez's strengths, and getting him on the back foot is a task too big for many to handle.
You can watch their full match here:
On Saturday, Canelo faces Dmitry Bivol, a potential dark horse in boxing that might be able to give him a run for his money.
Will Alvarez retain his standing as the pound-for-pound king, or will Bivol be able to create the biggest upset in boxing history of recent years?
You can watch the full DAZN special here:
Canelo Alvarez's new preparations ahead of his fight with Dmitry Bivol
Alvarez still trains with long-time coach Eddy Reynoso, who has been in his corner since he turned pro at 15.
Reynoso revealed to DAZN how he creates gameplans for Canelo's opponents. This involves taking in all of their strengths and technical weaknesses to create the straightest path to victory.
Regarding the rematch with Gennadiy Golovkin, Reynoso said:
"We needed 40 more punches, and in addition, be a little more aggressive and make Golovkin move back a little more."
The strategy was successful, and Alvarez walked away with the win. Now standing before Dmitry Bivol, Canelo and his team are utilizing a new strategy. 'Cinnamon' has even gone plant-based ahead of the bout.
In an interview on Chris Mannix's podcast, Alvarez said:
"Not 100%, but I tried it and I feel good."
He stated that he watched a documentary on Netflix, and it influenced him to change up his diet.
Fight fans will have to wait until Saturday to see if this new change of diet has any effect on Canelo Alvarez's performance against Dmitry Bivol.
Canelo shared this Instagram post ahead of his matchup, meeting with the media and signing posters: