Abel Sanchez: Canelo Won't Have Chavez In Front of Him 9/16

By Keith Idec

LAS VEGAS – Abel Sanchez respectfully sent a message to Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya early Sunday morning.

As good as Alvarez felt about obliterating a Mexican rival in what amount amounted to an heavily hyped mismatch Saturday night, Golovkin’s outspoken trainer reminded them Alvarez had better be ready for a much more difficult fight September 16. While Chavez essentially served as a punching bag for 12 rounds at T-Mobile Arena, Golovkin is undefeated, has knocked out 89 percent of his opponents and has never even considered quitting on his stool.

“I think Canelo displayed today his great boxing skills, great combinations,” Sanchez said during a press conference at T-Mobile Arena. “But he’s not gonna have Chavez in front of him this time. He’s gonna have Gennady Golovkin. I think it’s gonna be a great fight. I’ve said in the past that this is the kind of fight that [you can do] two or three times. And I still believe that. And I believe it even more now that I’ve seen him fight Chavez.”

The long-awaited Alvarez-Golovkin showdown finally was officially announced in the ring Saturday night after Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) completely out-classed Chavez (50-3-1, 32 KOs, 1 NC) in an HBO Pay-Per-View main event. Kazakhstan’s Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) watched from a ringside seat as Alvarez pummeled the bigger Chavez throughout their one-sided bout, which Alvarez won, 120-108, on all three scorecards.

The IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion then was whisked into a waiting area in the bowels of T-Mobile Arena. Moments later, Golovkin made a grand re-entrance to arena, with his theme song blaring in the background.

It was a scene straight out of WWE, but it brought a merciful end to more than year of speculation regarding whether Alvarez actually would fight Golovkin in September 2017, as De La Hoya promised last year.

A site for the fight hasn’t been chosen, but the contracts are finalized, according to De La Hoya, whose company promotes Alvarez.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.