LAS VEGAS — Canelo Alvarez often uses the first three or six minutes of a fight to study his opponent and find the best method of attack, the same way an elite quarterback would look at how a defense is lined up and audible to the play that works best.
What he’s looking for is the simplest way to lands those withering body shots he throws. What they do is bruise the muscles, sometimes break the bones and slowly but methodically suck the life out of most every opponent.
Eventually, when it gets too much to take, Alvarez will switch his approach and go upstairs, relying on the tried-and-true boxing theory that if one attacks the body the head will eventually fall.