Trainer Johnathon Banks says a highly motivated Gennady Golovkin will take the battle to Saul "Canelo" Alvarez from the first bell and must fight every round “like it is his last” if he is to come out on top in this weekend’s much-anticipated trilogy bout.
Golvokin, the current WBA and IBF middleweight champion, goes up against familiar foe Alvarez for the third time early this Sunday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, as he seeks to avenge his 2018 loss.
The points defeat four years ago, coming after a controversial split draw the previous year, represents Golovkin’s sole blemish in 44 professional fights.
The two contentious calls – many considered Golovkin won the first bout – have framed the build-up to this weekend’s clash, with Golovkin viewing it as an opportunity to write the wrongs of the rematch.
Alvarez, though, goes into the fight as the heavy favourite. Since the second Golovkin bout, the Mexican has gone on to become boxing’s pound-for-pound No 1 and its most bankable asset, while in the past year alone, he has held all four super-middleweight belts.
The defeat in May to WBA light-heavyweight Dmitry Bivol marked Alvarez's first loss in nine years – and second overall as a pro from 61 fights.
Golovkin, meanwhile, has won all four fights since 2018, including three under Banks’ tutelage. The pair began working together in May 2019.
Speaking to The National, Banks said Golovkin was raring to go for the trilogy, before breaking down what will be required to get what he believes a deserved victory on Sunday.
“It has to be a dominating performance,” Banks said. “He can’t afford to take any rounds off. Every round he’s got to be on point. That’s the goal.
“That’s what I’m telling him and that’s what I believe needs to happen. No seconds off, no minutes off. He’s got to start the round strong, finish it strong.
“He’ll have to go to work. He’ll have to let his hands go and be smart about the whole thing. Just got to take one round at a time. If you fight like every round is your last round, we’ll be in good position."
Banks added: “I’d be foolish to think all you have to do is go in there and knock him out. Who has knocked Canelo out? Nobody. For me to think that that would be insane.
“I think there’s ways he can hurt him, and they could be obvious. There are a couple things we’re working on, but for the most part he’s just got to outwork him every round. Let it be obvious what’s going on in there.”
In a closely fought encounter in 2017, one judge scored it wildly in Alvarez’s favour, giving him 10 of the 12 rounds. Another deemed the contest a draw, even if he did award the 7th – Golovkin’s standout round – to Alvarez.
However, while Banks said he did not want to leave the trilogy open to the judges’ call, he denied the game-plan had been devised with the previous controversy in mind.
“It's not because of the judges,” Banks said. “It’s because of the type of person [Golovkin's] in there with. But I think that’s just the smarter strategy: if we want to hurt this guy, we will get busy to keep him busy and make him desperate to start picking it up. That’s the whole point - making him uncomfortable.
“He just had this defeat [to Bivol]. So, by the time the sixth round comes, if his people tell him, ‘This fight is close, you’ve got to pick it up’, then he’s going to come in looking for a knockout – and that could get him in trouble.”
For the trilogy, Golovkin has moved to super-middleweight to compete for the first time at 168 lbs. The original two match-ups with Alvarez took place at 160 lbs.
Banks, who took up training in 2012 under the tutelage of legendary coach Emmanuel Steward, said the fact Alvarez has climbed through the divisions – he fought Bivol at light-heavyweight – should work in Golovkin’s favour, since the continuously increasing baulk has encouraged him to fight more on the front foot.
Still, Banks says Alvarez will be wary of Golovkin's resilience following their 2018 bout.
“When both fighters left the ring that night after the 12th round, I think both were different,” he said. “They both went through two tough battles. And it definitely changed them.
“Because Canelo looked at [Golovkin] and said, ‘Listen, you know what, I’m going to stay away from this guy. This guy is crazy. Everything I did he came right back’.
“No one ever did that to him before. He looked at him like, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with him’.
Alvarez, 32, has been particularly vocal in the lead-up, saying the rivalry is personal, that he is coming to “destroy” Golovkin. The Kazakhstan fighter turned 40 in April; Alvarez says he will send him into retirement this weekend.
As to what he makes of the Alvarez trash talk, Banks said: “He also said he can leap over a building with a single bounce. The man says what he feeling like saying.
“The man says it’s personal. The man says he’s coming to destroy him. The man says he will be finished after this fight, the man says this is ‘G’s’ last fight.
“Then he said he walked on water, then he walked through walls. And now he says he’s swam across the ocean 10 times but came back and he’s ready to fight. The man says a lot of things. What’s to make of it? I really don’t know.
“It’s part of the sport; guy’s say whatever they feel like saying, either to get themselves motivated, or try to get into the head of somebody that’s close to the fighter, or to stir up stuff through the media so the media have something to talk about.
“As a veteran fighter in the sport, ‘G’ should brush stuff like that off. It’s very hard to find a veteran in the sport that, when their opponents start talking and talking and talking, it affects them.
“Because that veteran knows the fight still has to happen, the bell still has to ring. So, whatever you say, doesn’t mean anything. As long as you show up to fight, that’s all that really matters.”
The%C2%A0specs%20
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The biog
Hometown: Birchgrove, Sydney Australia
Age: 59
Favourite TV series: Outlander Netflix series
Favourite place in the UAE: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque / desert / Louvre Abu Dhabi
Favourite book: Father of our Nation: Collected Quotes of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Thing you will miss most about the UAE: My friends and family, Formula 1, having Friday's off, desert adventures, and Arabic culture and people
What is safeguarding?
“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
UFC%20FIGHT%20NIGHT%3A%20SAUDI%20ARABIA%20RESULTS
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JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
%3Cp%3EGoogle%20wasn't%20new%20to%20busting%20out%20April%20Fool's%20jokes%3A%20before%20the%20Gmail%20%22prank%22%2C%20it%20tricked%20users%20with%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fmentalplex%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emind-reading%20MentalPlex%20responses%3C%2Fa%3E%20and%20said%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fpigeonrank%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3E%20well-fed%20pigeons%20were%20running%20its%20search%20engine%20operations%3C%2Fa%3E%20.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20subsequent%20years%2C%20they%20announced%20home%20internet%20services%20through%20your%20toilet%20with%20its%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Ftisp%2Finstall.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Epatented%20GFlush%20system%3C%2Fa%3E%22%2C%20made%20us%20believe%20the%20Moon's%20surface%20was%20made%20of%20cheese%20and%20unveiled%20a%20dating%20service%20in%20which%20they%20called%20founders%20Sergey%20Brin%20and%20Larry%20Page%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fromance%2Fpress.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3EStanford%20PhD%20wannabes%3C%2Fa%3E%20%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EBut%20Gmail%20was%20all%20too%20real%2C%20purportedly%20inspired%20by%20one%20%E2%80%93%20a%20single%20%E2%80%93%20Google%20user%20complaining%20about%20the%20%22poor%20quality%20of%20existing%20email%20services%22%20and%20born%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fgooglepress.blogspot.com%2F2004%2F04%2Fgoogle-gets-message-launches-gmail.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emillions%20of%20M%26amp%3BMs%20later%3C%2Fa%3E%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Favourite things
Luxury: Enjoys window shopping for high-end bags and jewellery
Discount: She works in luxury retail, but is careful about spending, waits for sales, festivals and only buys on discount
University: The only person in her family to go to college, Jiang secured a bachelor’s degree in business management in China
Masters: Studying part-time for a master’s degree in international business marketing in Dubai
Vacation: Heads back home to see family in China
Community work: Member of the Chinese Business Women’s Association of the UAE to encourage other women entrepreneurs
The Bio
Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.
Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.
Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.
Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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