The most anticipated fight in all of boxing is now a fight between Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez and Gennady ?GGG? Golovkin for the middleweight championship of the world. The fight has been talked about ever since Alvarez decided to move up in weight and won the WBC/RING Middleweight belt against Miguel Cotto in November of last year. Even though Alvarez was twice mandated to fight Golovkin, he instead chose to drop the belt and drop down in weight, putting this fight?s future in doubt.
In part 2 of my ?On The Ropes? boxing radio interview with trainer Abel Sanchez, I get his thoughts on the future of his star fighter and if he think Billy Joe Saunders or Daniel Jacobs will be willing to fight Golovkin. Abel also discusses a potential Golovkin-Alvarez fight and what he thinks is preventing it. Additionally, Sanchez shares his views on if Canelo fears ?GGG? and what he thinks of Alvarez holding the Ring belt. Here is what Abel Sanchez had to say.
Jenna J: Abel, it was reported that Billy Joe Saunders now wants to fight Gennady Golovkin. What do you make of his comments after he turned down a fight with ?GGG? in the past?
Abel Sanchez: It seems that every time Golovkin gets these guys coming out of the woodworks saying they want to fight Golovkin, but when it comes down to it and Tom does negotiations with their people or the fighter, it always seems that they put so many roadblocks in front. Whether it?s Chris Eubank regarding his father making all of those demands from the promoter. Whether it?s Danny Jacobs talking about, ?It?s gotta be worth my while,? what does that mean?
BJ Saunders says, ?I want to fight Golovkin, just not next, I want to fight in October.? All these things that are said on Twitter are useless. What they need to be doing instead of getting on Twitter is they need to be calling Tom Loeffler and make the fight.
Jenna J: Daniel Jacobs is now the mandatory challenger to Golovkin and says he wants the fight. Would you want that match to happen next if it can be agreed to?
Abel Sanchez: Absolutely, but you have to remember that when they say things like this, there?s always a second part of it. The second part of it is that they have to ?make it worth my while, that fight is worth X amount of dollars,? how the hell do they know how much it?s worth? It?s however the market will bear, there?s only so much in a budget and when he hasn?t made the kind of money that he?s asking for, it?s kind of difficult for a fight to be put together that way.
Yes, I think that it?s a fight that has a lot of meaning in a lot of areas. The fact that he?s a cancer survivor, the fact that he?s able to beat cancer is a great for Danny. I think he counts his days as lucky just like a lot of us do that have had a life threatening injury or sickness, but it has to be made not on Twitter or on Facebook, it has to be made without talking and going to the people that can make the fight, instead of putting it out there and making yourself look like a fool when it doesn?t happen.
Jenna J: People want to see Saul Alvarez fight Golovkin but his side is all about letting the fight marinate. Deep down in your heart, do you believe the fight will happen in September of 2017?
Abel Sanchez: That?s exactly my point, whether it?s Jacobs or Saunders or Canelo, they say they want to fight but just not next. When do they want to fight? I have no clue when Canelo is going to grow into a middleweight, yet when he fought Cotto or Khan, he was announced as the middleweight champion. They make excuses and I think those questions you?re asking about should be directed at them, why are they saying these things?
Just like when Canelo called us into the ring and made such a spectacle in front of 16,000 people at the T-Mobile Arena, it was taken back ten days later. He gave up the belt. All that BS about ?I want to fight Golovkin next, I?ll fight him right now, I?ll put the gloves on right now,? Oscar at the press conference saying ?Tom, make sure you answer your phone because I?m going to be calling you tomorrow.? It was all BS, so you guys as the journalists have to ask why is it BS? Why are they saying these things and not living up to it?
Golovkin is ready to go, he?s been ready to go, but at the same time we can?t just sit around and wait for those guys that are talking, we have to continue to keep Golovkin busy because he wants to fight three times a year.
Jenna J: Do you believe Canelo would like to fight Golovkin? Do you think he wants the fight or does he fear losing?
Abel Sanchez: I think he?s afraid of losing, I don?t think he?s afraid of Golovkin, I just think he has the fear of losing again. I think Oscar has the fear of him losing again. I don?t think that fight will happen, and if it does happen, you?re talking about 2018 not 2017.
Jenna J: Do you think they will wait for Golovkin to get a little older before they entertain it?
Abel Sanchez: No, I think they are waiting for Golovkin to move out of the way. If Golovkin weren?t a middleweight, Canelo would be a real comfortable middleweight and would be living the life.
Jenna J: Canelo Alvarez is recognized as the linear middleweight champion by Ring Magazine. Now that his last two fights have been against a welterweight in Amir Khan and a junior Middleweight in Liam Smith, do you think it might be time for him to give up that belt if he intends on continuing to fight lighter division fighters?
Abel Sanchez: It?s not what I think, it?s the ridiculous comments that De La Hoya is saying. He owns the Ring belt, he owns the Ring magazine, he owns the Ring belt. It?s a question that should be asked of him. When he gave up the middleweight belt, why is he still rated as a middleweight when he?s fighting as a junior middleweight. This was when he fought back in May, yet he?s still considered that, which is ridiculous. That?s out of our control, the guy that owns the Ring belt is Oscar De La Hoya.
