By Miguel Rivera
Abel Sanchez, trainer for IBO/WBA/IBF middleweight champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (35-0, 32KOs), feels WBC champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (46-1-1, 32KOs) is disrespecting the boxing legends of Mexico with his catch-weight demands.
Canelo is back on Saturday night when he defends his title against Amir Khan (31-3, 19KOs) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight takes place at a catch-weight of 155-pounds.
The winner of the HBO Pay-Per-View headliner has been ordered by the World Boxing Council to fight Golovkin in the fall.
Canelo, should he win the contest, is willing to fight Golovkin - if the unified beltholder agrees to a catch-weight of 155.
Golovkin has refused to accept the idea of a catch-weight. He wants the full middleweight limit of 160-pounds. The WBC will not force GGG to fight any lower than 160. If Canelo refuses to fight Golovkin next, then he will be stripped.
If the fight happens, Sanchez is confident Golovkin would win by knockout in the second half of the fight.
"I don't think [he's a great figure for Mexican boxing] - but he could become one. At the moment, he is not. Because for me, he is behaving like a diva and insulting the boxing legends of Mexico. This requirement to ask for a weight to prevent a weight within your own division, I think it is disrespectful," Sanchez told ESPN Deportes.
"He's obviously very good fighter. He has his style, has many resources. He certainly is a great fighter. He has his punching power, but he is nothing compared to my fighter. Gennady is a much better boxer, has a greater power in his hand and I'm positive he would knock Canelo out in about 8 or 9 rounds."
