Do you rate Abel Sanchez as a trainer?

[LetOutTheCage]

I have never been sold on the guy as a trainer, he seems good at getting his fighters fit and in shape but in terms of tactics and improving technical ability he doesnt seem to be good enough.I have felt this at times listening to what he says in corner for GGG but it was especially telling in the Gassiev vs Usyk fight.

Gassiev did not seem to have any real plan to deal with Usyk and looked completely lost in that fight. No doubt Usyk is a great fighter but the preparation seemed to be non-existent from the Gassiev corner.

He was simply throwing wild hooks which didnt connect much and was incredibly predictable. You could also see the frustration build for Gassiev but Sanchez instructions were not very good, I think it was round 10 or 11 he instructed Gassiev to "go out there and kick his ass"

and prior to the fight he made the following comment:

“I always train my fighters to be the best they can be. It doesn’t matter what the other guys bring. How Usyk fought Briedis doesn’t mean he will fight Murat the same way. What you look for though is tendencies of what he likes to do and what he does after certain combinations. We have prepared Murat to be Murat and now Usyk will have to deal with him.”

I think the bit in bold is telling and suggests that he wasnt really working on ways to neutralize Usyk (which given his talents he should have been trying to do).

Interested to hear other peoples thoughts on Sanchez as a coach?

[Jewish-Reptile]

No I don’t, not in the least and having watched GGG vs Clenelo it confirmed to me the guy is vastly overrated. Same with Gassiev I don’t see what he brings to his fighters whatsoever.

[Scopedog]

In this current era, I think if nothing else he has a good eye for talent, it's obvious that he examines amateur prospects quite closely, especially those from Eastern Europe, and manages to pick out the guys with the best attributes for the pros and adapts them quickly to the ranks. Golovkin's obviously the best example of this but I think it goes for a lot of his current guys too - like others have said, I don't think round-by-round strategy is his strong suit but his guys always come in peak physical condition, and the guys he's trained seem to hit a lot harder than average, so I think he at least deserves credit for the fitness and punching form training he's taught, though some of that is no doubt down to the natural ability of the guys he recruits.

I also think he's good PR, he's confident in front of cameras, speaks fluent English, and is good at talking smack, which means he's a good complement for a lot the Eastern Euro guys he trains who aren't the most charismatic and only speak broken English. The fact that he's a Mexican trainer with a down-to-earth feel to him makes him less offputting as a frontman than some sleazy old white promoter would be, for instance. That ad where it was footage of Golovkin training interspersed with Sanchez's thinly-veiled clowning on Canelo for his Mexican Beef was like the peak of that, that was PR brilliance.

So yeah, I think as far as strategy goes he's no Manny Steward. It seems like he favours overwhelming offense as his go-to strategy that follows an effective but relatively basic ruleset. However I still think he's smart in a lot of other ways that are valuable to fighters careers, and he's a good fit for the guys he has, especially for Golovkin. I know in the aftermath of the whipping Gassiev took from Usyk it's easy to not be impressed, but the fact remains that Sanchez helped Gassiev, a 24-year old, reach the grand final of a tournament filled with the toughest guys at the weight, capturing two world title belts along the way, so imo he still deserves credit as a good trainer.

[wlad1111]

He did tell Gassiev to cut off the ring and not just follow. Gassiev just couldn't do it.

[pittapatta66]

Nope, never, and that was before it became popular to rag on the rat/ snake. He is a fraud

[Willy Wanker]

I've spent enough time on this forum to know that literally every single trainer is overrated.

[LetOutTheCage]

No I don’t, not in the least and having watched GGG vs Clenelo it confirmed to me the guy is vastly overrated. Same with Gassiev I don’t see what he brings to his fighters whatsoever.

I think he gets his fighters in tremendous shape but ultimately that's it. I haven't seen any of his fighters really improve technically or tactically and he seems to like to work with fighters who are physically strong and aggressive.

Gassiev clearly has the attributes to be successful but needs to improve his technical ability. He's still young and can come back from this defeat but I think he should look at alternatives to Sanchez.

[LetOutTheCage]

In this current era, I think if nothing else he has a good eye for talent, it's obvious that he examines amateur prospects quite closely, especially those from Eastern Europe, and manages to pick out the guys with the best attributes for the pros and adapts them quickly to the ranks. Golovkin's obviously the best example of this but I think it goes for a lot of his current guys too - like others have said, I don't think round-by-round strategy is his strong suit but his guys always come in peak physical condition, and the guys he's trained seem to hit a lot harder than average, so I think he at least deserves credit for the fitness and punching form training he's taught, though some of that is no doubt down to the natural ability of the guys he recruits.

I also think he's good PR, he's confident in front of cameras, speaks fluent English, and is good at talking smack, which means he's a good complement for a lot the Eastern Euro guys he trains who aren't the most charismatic and only speak broken English. The fact that he's a Mexican trainer with a down-to-earth feel to him makes him less offputting as a frontman than some sleazy old white promoter would be, for instance. That ad where it was footage of Golovkin training interspersed with Sanchez's thinly-veiled clowning on Canelo for his Mexican Beef was like the peak of that, that was PR brilliance.

So yeah, I think as far as strategy goes he's no Manny Steward. It seems like he favours overwhelming offense as his go-to strategy that follows an effective but relatively basic ruleset. However I still think he's smart in a lot of other ways that are valuable to fighters careers, and he's a good fit for the guys he has, especially for Golovkin. I know in the aftermath of the whipping Gassiev took from Usyk it's easy to not be impressed, but the fact remains that Sanchez helped Gassiev, a 24-year old, reach the grand final of a tournament filled with the toughest guys at the weight, capturing two world title belts along the way, so imo he still deserves credit as a good trainer.

You make some very good points and I agree with getting his fighters ready physically. From a PR perspective I think he can be a double-edged sword, he has made comments that have come back to bite GGG for example.

And to your last point about him taking Gassiev to the final, was that really him or was that more to do with Gassiev's physical traits? By this I mean that Gassiev has looked quite basic in a lot of his fights but has relied on his natural power and toughness to grind out wins. Thankfully the boy is tough as he has had to take a lot of shots clean. I havent seen much head-movement or defence for that matter and that again is something Sanchez is responsible for.

[Scopedog]

You make some very good points and I agree with getting his fighters ready physically. From a PR perspective I think he can be a double-edged sword, he has made comments that have come back to bite GGG for example.

And to your last point about him taking Gassiev to the final, was that really him or was that more to do with Gassiev's physical traits? By this I mean that Gassiev has looked quite basic in a lot of his fights but has relied on his natural power and toughness to grind out wins. Thankfully the boy is tough as he has had to take a lot of shots clean. I havent seen much head-movement or defence for that matter and that again is something Sanchez is responsible for.

It's probably up for debate how much is training and how much is just how he is naturally. With the shape he's in, I'm personally more inclined to think that it's training - at the very least Sanchez has taught him how to punch the right way to capitalise on his power.

[W1LL]

He is a maricon.