Abel Sanchez, head trainer of IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs), is shocked at the recent flood of opinions from critics who believe his fighter is getting old.
Golovkin, 35 years old, has certainly looked more vulnerable in his recent fights.
Last November, he defended his titles against Kell Brook, who was moving up by two full weight divisions from 147-pounds. In that contest, Brook landed more than his fair share of punches, winning some of the early rounds before he suffered a fractured orbital bone and was stopped in the fifth round.
This past March, Golovkin was forced to go the full twelve round distance for the first time in his career, when he fought mandatory challenger Daniel Jacobs at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Golovkin, who coming into that contest had stopped 23 opponents in row, won a close twelve round unanimous decision, but had trouble with Jacobs and once again showed some defensive vulnerabilities.
Based on his recent performances, there is a crowd of observers who believe GGG's age is finally catching up to him.
"I think it’s kind of funny that people have comments like that. Nobody ever said anything about Floyd Mayweather getting old when he got rocked by Shane Mosley or when he was repeatedly getting hit by Maidana. Nobody said anything when Andre Ward got dropped in the first fight against Kovalev," Sanchez said to On The Ropes Boxing Radio.
"It seems funny to me that this guy has the highest knockout ratio in middleweight history, he’s undefeated, he’s never been hurt, never been down, but yet he’s getting old. People are funny, but I guess they hold him on such a high pedestal that everything he does has to be perfect.
"Danny Jacobs was the second best middleweight in the world, Kell Brook was an undefeated welterweight champion who I knew was going to be difficult from the beginning because he was fast. These guys are quality guys, so it’s funny that Gennady gets those comments made about him."
Golovkin will defend his middleweight crown on September 16th, in the main event of an HBO Pay-Per-View, against Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
