by David P. Greisman
While Gennady Golovkin’s trainer has some compliments about Martin Murray — whom Golovkin will be defending against in February — he still doesn’t think Murray stands a chance.
“He’s a big strong guy. He’s going to be a heck of a lot bigger than anybody we’ve fought. He obviously has the credentials,” Abel Sanchez told BoxingScene.com on Nov. 7. “He fought Sergio [Martinez] and supposedly he beat Sergio. He got a draw with [Felix] Sturm in Germany, which in my mind he won the fight. I think that he’s a guy who’s going to present, if not a size difference, he’s going to present some experience on a higher level.”
But Sanchez doesn’t believe Murray is Golovkin’s toughest opponent yet.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Sanchez said. “I would say he’s probably the biggest and a mobile guy, but I wouldn’t say he’s the toughest. The toughest was probably [Curtis] Stevens, just because he presented a short target, a formidable guy that can punch a little bit.”
Sanchez says Murray will pose very little difficulty.
“The fact that he fought Sergio, the fact that he fought Sturm, he’s not going to be intimidated. He’s going to come out and try to do what he did against Sergio, but Golovkin’s a special fighter,” Sanchez said. “Golovkin’s one of those guys who come along every 20 years. There’ll be nobody at 154, 160 that can go 12 rounds with him.”
It’s not so much what Murray isn’t, but what Golovkin is, the trainer said.
“If Golovkin is motivated, then it’s an easy fight,” Sanchez said. “If Golovkin’s not motivated, maybe it’s twice as long as it should be.”
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
