Abel Sanchez: record, next fight and profile →
23-year-old welterweight prospect Konstanin Ponomarev has already amassed a 29-0 record. That is quite impressive for a fighter of that age. With that being said, the Ural Promotions and Top Rank co-promoted fighter may have to wait a little while longer for a shot at a world title if his trainer Abel Sanchez gets his way.
Over the past few years WBA/IBF/IBO/WBC interim champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (34-0, 31KOs) has been one of the busiest champions in the sport. He has consistently fought three to four times a year in in an era where most champions fight twice a year.
Friday morning, BoxingScene.com broke the news that former 168 pound champion and Super Sox winner Andre Ward (28-0, 15KOs) would face unbeaten light heavyweight Sullivan Barrera (17-0, 12KOs) on March 26th at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.
It was a birthday bash in Cancun, Mexico for World Boxing Counil President Mauricio Sulaiman. Several promoters, trainers, past and future WBC world champions attended the gathering. Among the participants were Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin, Adonis Stevenson, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., Abel Sanchez, Pepe Gomez, and Tom Loeffler.
Trainer Abel Sanchez is on his daily grind at the Summit Gym in Big Bear with his various boxers but in due time, his best known client, WBA/IBF/IBO middleweight, Gennady Golovkin (34-0, 31KOs) will be walking through his doors to get back to work as they embark on their 2016 campaign.
There are on-going discussions for a light heavyweight bout between Olympic gold medal winner Andre Ward and unbeaten Cuban contender Sullivan Barrera, who earned the top ranking in the IBF by defeating Karo Murat in five rounds on December the 12th.
A few days ago, Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26KOs) voiced a strong opinion on the current boxing landscape, explaining what he believes to be a certain level of favoritism, at least politically, when it comes to certain races and ethnicities. Mayweather believes super middleweight king Andre Ward is being forced, politically, to move up the light heavyweight division - with the goal of getting him knocked off. Ward recently signed a multi-fight deal with HBO which includes a 2016 showdown with light heavyweight king Sergey Kovalev of Russia - arguably the most dangerous fight of Ward's career.
Given the way the night played out and ultimately ended versus Kevin Bizier, the first loss of Fredrick Lawson's career can either serve as a valuable learning lesson or one from which he never recovers. The unbeaten boxer from Chicago by way of Ghana was outfought and ultimately forced to retire prior to the start of the 11th round in their welterweight eliminator Saturday evening. The bout served as the main event of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBCSN, headlining at Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort in Miami, Florida.
WBA/IBO/IBF middleweight champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (34-0, 31KOs) is still very interested in facing Carl Froch, according to the champion's head trainer Abel Sanchez. Froch (33-2, 24KOs) has been inactive since his big rematch win in May 2014, when he knocked out George Groves before a crowd of 80,000 fans.
Abel Sanchez, trainer of WBA/IBF/IBO middleweight champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (34-0, 31KOs), says his fighter would still be willing to drop down to the junior middleweight limit of 154-pounds for a bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26KOs). Mayweather retired in September after winning a twelve round unanimous decision. There are still pending rumors that he might entertain a return, to chase his 50th win, in 2016.