Golovkin vs Brook: Triple G's training regime revealed ahead of fight
Friday 9 September 2016 16:51, UK
Gennady Golovkin is the most dangerous puncher in boxing, but what training regime does 'GGG' use to develop his ferocious power?
The unbeaten 34-year-old has undergone another stringent training camp ahead of Saturday's fight with Kell Brook at The O2 Arena, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
In the past few months, Golovkin has primed his destructive punching behind closed doors at the remote Big Bear mountain.
But trainer Abel Sanchez has revealed how he turns Golovkin into a human wrecking machine...
What time does Gennady start training?
We get up at 5am and we run at 6am. We run for an hour-and-a-half, then we go back to the gym for an hour to do strength and conditioning.
At 3pm he comes back into the gym. If we're not sparring, then he's hitting the bags and hitting the mitts.
How does Golovkin develop his power?
Strength and conditioning is on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have my own system, I do it all myself. I have no other coaches, I am the only coach in the gym.
We do a lot of different exercises that I've been using since I had Terry Norris. Stuff that I've developed, you could say. We do a lot of bands, we don't use any weights.
I don't feel that weights help us - that's not because I feel that they're bad for you, there are certain instances when weights have to be used. But in this particular instance for Gennady and other smaller fighters that I have, I don't use the weights because I never have.
Bigger is not better for GGG?
People talk about him having swimmers' muscles and I think that's because of our stretching, and our exercises.
We use bands. When you go to a rehabilitation centre and you've broken your shoulder, you use rubber bands to make you stronger. We use bands like that, because the tension in them is a lot more.
We do a lot of repetitions with light, light weights. These are weights that I designed 30 years ago that we still use. I make them myself.
These exercises make him the strong person that he is, but it's not only him. You remember Carson Jones? He was very strong too. Our strength and our power means we're able to dominate.
How often are Gennady's sparring sessions?
I don't look at [how many hours] per day, I look at [how many] days. I only spar Gennady nine days for a fight - Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He will not spar more than 75 rounds for this fight.
He'll have four sparring partners in camp. For this fight, I'm not going to bring in a couple of the guys that I usually bring in - I'm going to use new ones.
Julius Jackson would be too big, Paul Mendez would be too tall. So Darnell Boone will be in camp, a guy named Dashon Johnson will be in camp. Guys that are a similar size to Kell with similar hand speed - but you can never duplicate Kell, it's impossible. All we can do is get as close as possible.
What is Golovkin's training diet?
He eats every day and he eats like a horse! He loves to eat. He loves meat, he loves steak. In fact, we had steak last night. He loves steak and potatoes, and Mexican food.
He doesn't have a problem with weight because he's a small middleweight.
The WBC has a 30-day weigh-in, which is within a tenth, and we're supposed to record it. For his last four fights, Golovkin has weighed 164 or 163lbs. Kell is a big welterweight. I bet you [he will be heavier than GGG on fight night].
Usually Golovkin weighs 169 or 170lbs [on the night] which is 10lbs heavier [than the middleweight limit]. I bet you Kell will be heavier.
Does Gennady have a good work ethic?
When I first got him six-and-a-half years ago I asked him to give me three years without any questions, interruptions or saying 'this is the way I used to do it before'. Let me do my job for three years and I promised he'd be the best middleweight in the world.
To this day, six-and-a-half years later, he still hasn't questioned anything.
To this day, six-and-a-half years later, he still hasn't questioned anything. He says 'coach, this is your school'. I'm fortunate, as a coach, to have a pupil like that.
This is all stuff that I've designed and implemented into his training regime and I'm fortunate that he came to me with heavy hands. We've been able to develop that even more.
Watch Gennady Golovkin v Kell Brook, live on Sky Sports Box Office from The O2, on September 10. Book the event via your Sky remote or online here.
