Canelo Alvarez Assesses First Gennady Golovkin Fight, Reveals Rematch Gameplan

Canelo Alvarez knows what he needs to do if he has to defeat Gennady Golovkin in their highly-anticipated rematch next month.

Golovkin will defend his middleweight titles against Alvarez once again on Sept. 15 in Las Vegas after their first meeting a year ago ended in a controversial split decision draw.

The fight as a whole was one of the best of the year with both fighters having moments of success. However, many in the combat sports world felt Golovkin had done more than enough to secure the decision win.

With the rematch finally taking place with things being more personal this time, Alvarez still believes he won the first encounter as he became just the second fighter to take Golovkin the full distance.

"I knew who he was from the beginning," Alvarez said, as quoted on Bad Left Hook. "He’s been a middleweight all his career. I always said when I moved up to 160 I was going to face the best. I assumed he was the best. I faced him and I felt really good. I felt really good."

"His power wasn’t out of this world. I felt good, I’m a strong fighter too. The first fight showed me what I need to do in order to win this rematch convincingly, even though I keep thought I won the first fight. Whatever it takes, I have to do something different in this fight to win convincingly," he said.

Alvarez landed several fight-ending punches on Golovkin but the unbeaten Kazakh was never really affected. Likewise, Alvarez wasn't affected either despite Golovkin being known for his power, with 37 of his 38 wins coming via knockout.

"I knew he was a fighter that could take a lot of punches," Alvarez added. "He can take a lot of punches upstairs. I simply thought to keep fighting my fight...When he hit me it was a punch that would’ve knocked out anyone, between the ear and the neck. I didn’t feel anything so it gave me more confidence."

"So he has a strong punch, respectable, but nothing out of this world. I think he’s a fighter that has an 8 out of 10, 9 out of 10...He’s a strong fighter," he said.

As for what the Mexican will do in the rematch to emerge as the convincing winner, Alvarez says he will work on his conditioning so that he can throw more punches.

"I think the first fight showed me what I need to do in the rematch...I have to throw more punches, be more consistent in throwing punches. We’re going to work more on physical conditioning. That’s what was missing a little in the first fight. I was in good shape but I needed a little more to throw more punches," he said.

Golovkin is still the favorite to win the fight as he is listed with -190 odds. Alvarez, meanwhile, is a +155 betting underdog.