By Keith Idec
LAS VEGAS – Gennady Golovkin gave the most politically correct responses possible when asked about Abel Sanchez during a press conference to announce his new trainer.
Golovkin thanked his former trainer for everything Sanchez taught him. He also characterized their longtime partnership as a positive experience.
Once that question-and-answer session ended Saturday, Golovkin was more candid during an interview with BoxingScene.com. Golovkin took exception to Sanchez characterizing their relationship as akin to a father and son once Golovkin’s former trainer revealed they went their separate ways over money.
“Well, let’s stop talking about son and father, father and son,” Golovkin said, according to his translator. “This is Abel’s game, Abel’s line. I know exactly what happened, so I don’t think it’s that important, what he said about father and son. It’s just all playing games on Abel’s side.”
Sanchez said Golovkin asked him to take a lower percentage from his purses than Sanchez previously earned once the former middleweight champion signed a new contract with DAZN. Golovkin’s six-fight deal with that free-spending streaming service reportedly will pay him approximately $100 million.
Golovkin contends that he tried to keep Sanchez in his corner. A seething Sanchez considers Golovkin greedy and ungrateful for all they accomplished together.
The 37-year-old Golovkin is at peace with their split because, according to him, he was able to discuss his intentions with Sanchez during a face-to-face meeting.
“Well, I feel very comfortable because me and Abel were able to actually sit down and talk to each other and decided what to do,” Golovkin said. “And as far as what’s going on in the media, the show is continuous. I know it’s from the inside, so I don’t think it’s very important, what’s going on right now.”
Johnathon Banks, Golovkin’s new trainer, has been working with the Kazakhstan native for two weeks at Shane Mosley’s gym in Big Bear Lake, California. Mosley’s gym is in the same small town where Sanchez trained Golovkin for many years at Sanchez’ gym.
Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) is scheduled to return to the ring June 8 at Madison Square Garden in New York. If he defeats Canadian underdog Steve Rolls (19-0, 10 KOs), Golovkin is expected to immediately pursue a third fight against rival Canelo Alvarez (52-1-2, 35 KOs).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
