By Keith Idec

Gennady Golovkin’s trainer doesn’t think a much-discussed bout between Golovkin and Andre Ward warrants serious consideration, assuming the heavily favored Golovkin overcomes David Lemieux on Oct. 17 at Madison Square Garden.

Even if the two sides could come to an agreement on the weight at which Golovkin-Ward would be contested, Abel Sanchez said Ward’s inactivity has hurt his status in the sport and makes it less likely that the unbeaten boxers will fight anytime soon.

“At this point, it’s OK for Andre to call his name out,” Sanchez stated. “But Andre needs to fight, to fight to be relevant, to fight so that the people don’t forget who he is. Just because he won the ‘Super Six’ four years ago and he has fought two times in the last three years against nondescript opponents, it doesn’t make him qualified for those kind of fights. So I think that if he starts fighting and becomes relevant, then I’m sure that fight is down the road. But until then, it doesn’t make any sense yet.”

Since dominating Chad Dawson in September 2012, the 31-year-old Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) has fought just twice, largely due to shoulder surgery and promotional problems. Ward defeated Edwin Rodriguez (27-1, 18 KOs) by unanimous decision and recorded a ninth-round technical knockout victory over England’s Paul Smith (35-6, 20 KOs) in those two fights.

The 33-year-old Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs) has fought nine times since Ward defeated Dawson (32-4, 18 KOs, 2 NC). The emerging star from Kazakhstan will headline his first pay-per-view card against Montreal’s Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs) next week in New York.

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.