By Miguel Rivera
Abel Sanchez, trainer of Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (36-0, 33KOs), is very firm in saying that his boxer will not agree to any sort of catch-weight for anyone other than Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26KOs).
For much of this year, Golovkin's handlers have tried to get Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (48-1-1, 34KOs) in the ring.
At first, the big issue was weight. Although the two boxers were middleweight champions, Canelo wanted a catch-weight of 155-pounds. Golovkin refused to go down any lower than the middleweight limit of 160.
Eventually when the World Boxing Council ordered Canelo to fight Golovkin - the Mexican superstar vacated his WBC middleweight belt and dropped down to 154-pounds. The sanctioning body later named Golovkin as their full champion at 160.
Canelo secured another title last month, when he knocked out Liam Smith for the WBO junior middleweight belt.
Next year, Canelo is considering a full jump to the middleweight division. His handlers have recently stated that he might test the middleweight waters by fighting at a catch-weight of 158-pounds.
The promoters for Golovkin and Canelo are involved in ongoing discussions to match their fighters in a major pay-per-view showdown next September.
From Golovkin's position, the fight will have take place at the middleweight limit of 160.
"We're not even thinking about fighting below our division. That's completely ruled out. It would be very difficult to get down [around the junior middleweight limit], and the only way I could do that happening is if the opponent was Floyd Mayweather. I think he would be the only one who deserved this type of sacrifice and not Canelo," Sanchez said.
For his part, Golovkin is hoping the fight comes together next fall.
"It's not about money, it's about getting in the ring and giving the fight that everyone wants, but I can not force anyone to do anything," Golovkin said.
