On Daily Routines, we profile successful leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, executives and athletes to explore their routines, schedules, habits and day in the life.
Canelo Álvarez has left no doubt in anyone’s mind on the question of: who is the current best boxer alive? After two thrilling classics with his middleweight rival, Gennady Golovkin, Canelo has all, but abandoned the 160 pound division and moved onto bigger and more historic opportunities.
Following his victory over Golovkin in their closely-contested rematch in 2018, Canelo has gone on to beat respected names like Daniel Jacobs, Sergey Kovalev and Callum Smith, and become a four-division world champion in the process.
He also became one of four boxers in history, to win the light heavyweight title as a former light middleweight champion, joining legendary names like Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Mike McCallum.
Not known for his trash talk, social media game or quippy remarks to journalists, Canelo has been all about his business ever since he entered the world of boxing; perhaps learning a thing or two from his former opponent, Floyd Mayweather.
I box for the love of boxing. I take on every fight with respect and seriousness. I just love boxing. Someday I would like to be remembered in boxing so that when people talk about boxing they talk about Canelo.
CANELO ALVAREZ PREPARES FOR EPIC FIGHT WITH JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JR. | Muscle & Fitness

Canelo Álvarez’s training routine & diet
During a fight camp, Canelo typically trains for six days a week (resting on Sundays) with two sessions a day. He wakes up early in the morning for his 6am run, comes back to have a lean breakfast of eggs and has a quick power nap to rest for his afternoon training session at 2.30-5pm.
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are generally reserved for boxing work — jump rope, shadowboxing, heavy bag, strategy and coming up with game plans — while Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are dedicated to sparring. “It’s the hardest thing I do and it’s what fascinates me the most,” Canelo said about his sparring sessions.
In his strength & conditioning sessions, Canelo prefers incorporating a little bit of everything into his training routine. “I do work on a little bit of weights just to get my power up. I work a lot of conditioning and stamina,” he told Muscle & Fitness. “If I lift any weights I do it more for explosion, but I really use my body weight to build up muscle and strength. I like working with my own body weight, and I just do the best job I can to be healthy and strong, both before and after a fight.”
Physical conditioning, because fights are very tough and very hard. You have to have the conditioning because if it doesn’t go quick, if it goes into later rounds, you have to have the physical conditioning to be able to compete. Specifically, there’s a few, running is one, and you also have to change up the speeds, so that you can get your heart rate up and down. Working on the heavy bag helps as well.
Boxer Canelo Álvarez on Training for His Next Fight and What It’s Like to Win a World Title | Men’s Journal
For his fight with Kovalev in 2019, however, the Mexican boxer was making the jump from 160 pounds to 175 pounds so he had to focus on bulking up by lifting more weights than usual. “That’s what I’m going to weigh, 175 pounds. God willing, that’s what we’re working on,” Canelo told World Boxing News. “I’m lifting more weights. I hadn’t lifted that much previously. A lot of reps but not that much weight. So I’m lifting more weights, eating more carbs, eating protein.
To recover from his intense training routine, Canelo isn’t a fan of some of the hi-tech options available these days for boxers, preferring just some good old sleep. “Just rest. There’s a lot you can do recovery wise—massages, getting into ice baths, getting treatment and all that. My best advice is a lot of rest. Sleeping is simple, but it’s so important,” he told Men’s Journal.
When it comes to his training diet, Canelo likes to keep things simple and structured. “I’m very disciplined about my diet when I train. I only eat lean proteins and veggies, like salmon and veggies,” he said.
After a fight is done though, he allows himself some treats. “I do two months of strict dieting so after fight night I go for whatever my body is craving,” he said in an interview with GQ. “It’s usually sushi. But after that I go home to Guadalajara and indulge in a lot of tacos before I have to start getting in shape for another fight.”
I have to be prepared. If someone is going to beat me, it’s not going to be because they trained harder. I train as hard as I can so when someone beats me I know it’s because they’re better than me.
CANELO ALVAREZ PREPARES FOR EPIC FIGHT WITH JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JR. | Muscle & Fitness
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