Canelo Alvarez has developed new skills so he can defeat Gennady Golovkin

There was a time between 2020 and 2022 where Canelo Alvarez seemed simply imperious, as nobody could get close to him and the Mexican was at the top of his game, dominating every weight class he decided to enter.

However, such success can never last and, following his shock defeat to Dmitry Bivol, Canelo is now facing unchartered waters in his career.

Not since a loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr had the Mexican icon entered a fight and tasted defeat, but now he has to respond.

Canelos vs Golovkin is an interesting match-up

The decision to immediately take a fight against Gennady Golovkin is difficult to understand from Canelo's perspective.

Yes, he immediately wants to get back into the ring and put right the wrongs of his defeat to Bivol, but why then go against the boxer who has perhaps given you the most trouble?

Golovkin's two previous battles with the Mexican have been legendary, with two fighters at the prime of their career doing battle.

Unfortunately, controversy surrounded the results with the Kazakh fighter believing he had won at least one of the two bouts.

Las Vegas will host the third matchup between the pair, but Canelo isn't heading into that with the same gameplan that saw him stunned by Bivol.

Canelo has worked on a new approach

Defeat to Bivol has forced Canelo to accept his own limitations, as he is no longer seen as invincible and he will have to actively work on something in the run-up to meeting Golovkin.

That new strategy is centred around being more mobile, as Bivol's quick feet were what stopped the Mexican in his tracks back in May.

Canelo looks to take something from fighters that beat him. He did it with Mayweather and he is trying to copy that strategy with Bivol.

He was also seen putting his hand speed and head movement on display in a recent training session.

Golovkin isn't in the physical prime of his career, so a renewed mobility won't necessarily be required against the veteran, but this is all part of Canelo improving his toolkit for future bouts, perhaps even a rematch with the Russian.