“The maxim of this sport is to hit without being hit and it is true that the Mexican boxer has always been considered very reckless in that regard, who comes out strong to receive as long as he gives, but Canelo does not. He has received but regularly likes to perform his boxing in a good way, he is brave but he does not let them drag him over the ring, ”said Salvador Rodríguez, a journalist from ESPN.
Intelligence is an adjective that can describe the style of Saul Alvarez on the ring, he may like it or not, but it is a formula that has allowed him to have 56 victories in his professional career and that he is about to dispute against Caleb Plant the super middleweight title of the International Boxing Federation (IBF) to position himself as the undisputed champion of his division, as currently Guadalajara owns the belts of the World Boxing Association (WBA), the World Boxing Council (WBC) and the World Boxing Organization (WBO); It should be noted that he would be the first Latin American to achieve this feat.
In addition, Rodríguez believes that a more strategic fighting approach can help prolong Álvarez’s career for a longer time “and the fact that he is the one who is there at the top, is going to make many Mexican boxers try to take that style and somehow extend his sports career spectrum a little more ”.
The boxing intelligence of Canelo Alvarez You can see it in his ability to counterattack, to take advantage of the opponents’ mistakes, to take off the blows and Salvador adds: “He is a very good timekeeper, he has a lot of speed, he knows when to attack you in the soft zones, when to feint and instead of waiting a hook to the liver throws the head “. It is this same ability that allows him to supply his physical handicaps of stature or scope on many occasions against different rivals.
— Have you discussed your methods of acquiring or reinforcing this tactical intelligence?
– “Repetitions in the gym. So much Canelo, What Eddy reynoso They are two perfectionists, many times winning is not enough, but they try to do their best. That connection that they have had has been great for his career and each time we have seen that Canelo can not only knock out in one hit or can hurt his rivals gradually, but also defensively he has grown a lot ”.
Radamés Hernández, a boxing coach at the Autonomous University of Sinaloa, explained to El Economista that awakening tactical thinking about the ring implies that as the types of blows are instructed to boxers, going from the simplest to the most complex, They teach their defenses and counterattack possibilities.
“For example, we put exercises to the right hand or the 1-2, which we know the blow from left to right, and through repetition in its development process you give it different options to make a defense and a counterattack action (…) you repeat it and repeat it until you look for the automatic movement of that action so that, when the athlete looks at it, they do it as a natural response ”.
Tactical intelligence in professional boxing also has to do with the boxer having to recognize his own characteristics and those of the rival: “Determine what he has, what is his physical condition, what is his technical and tactical level, his characteristics, his somatotype, if he is short or tall unlike the rival, whose characteristics he also has to consider ”, specified Radamés.
Compared to a novice, athletes who already have mastery of the sport are able to determine in less space and time what is the appropriate response to each type of scenario.
Emotional intelligence will be a factor that is also involved in this episode, because against Caleb Plant the fight became a personal matter for Saúl, because they have come to blows before they stand on the ring: “(Plant) is the first rival who has gotten strong, speaking things that perhaps had already remained in the past such as the issue of doping that in the end Canelo showed that it had been due to the consumption of contaminated meat and Caleb does not dismiss him as a cheater, of being an unfair person for him boxing, “said the journalist from ESPN.
— How do you work on emotional intelligence in boxing?
– “That is what the experience gives you, the years of training. An important part is the preparation of the athlete, when he knows that he has done a good preparation there is security. In the case of professional boxing, when you meet the athlete and do a training aimed at the options with which you can beat the opponent, that also gives you security. Then come other family situations, there are athletes who sometimes even make promises to be able to reach a goal and that is their motivation ”, commented Hernández.
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Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx