By Ryan Burton
BoxingScene.com recently caught up with top notch trainer Abel Sanchez whose stable of fighters includes Gennady Golovkin, Sullivan Barrera, Murat Gassiev, and several others.
An agreement was recently reached, allowing newly crowned WBC middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (46-1-1, 32KOs) and the interim beltholder Golovkin (34-0, 31KOs) to take interim-fights before facing each other in the fall.
September is the target for the highly anticipated fight with Golovkin returning to the ring on April 23rd and Canelo's next bout scheduled for May 7th.
Some insiders and fans are skeptical that the wildly popular Alvarez will actually step in the ring with Golovkin in September. Canelo's position of having Golovkin go down to catch-weight of 155-pounds has caused a backlash, with some critics fearing that his firm position on the matter will cause the expected negotiations to crumble.
When asked if he was confident of the showdown coming off, Sanchez said all they can do is remain hopeful. If Canelo refuses to fight Golovkin in the fall, he will be stripped of his title and Golovkin will become the full champion.
"You know I am looking at April 23rd. Once we get passed April 23rd then I sure hope that Canelo lives up to everything he has said and everything he has guaranteed to the WBC and everything he has promised his fans but that is up to Canelo and not up to us," Sanchez told BoxingScene.com.
"There will be somebody in September for us. Whether it is Canelo or somebody else - but if he doesn't fight him then Golovkin will be the WBC champion. That is what Golovkin has been after. He wants the 4 belts and then after that we will see what happens but hopefully Canelo is a man of his word
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