By Rick Reeno
Las Vegas - Abel Sanchez, trainer for WBC, WBA, IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (38-01, 34 KOs), believes his boxer would have received a much stiffer punishment had he tested positive for the same banned substance as their upcoming opponent, Canelo Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs).
Back in February, Canelo tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol.
The Mexican star attributes the failed tests to his consumption of contaminated meat during training camp in Mexico.
In April, the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Canelo for six months - with the punishment being retroactive to his February testing date.
Canelo was forced to withdraw from his May 5th rematch date with Golovkin.
But their second fight is now taking place on September 15th from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In the opinion of Sanchez, had Golovkin come up positive for clenbuterol - the rematch would have been shelved for good and GGG would have received a much longer suspension.
"We wouldn't be talking right now. The fight would have been off. It would have been off, because they always take care of the stars. They always avoid a controversy with the moneymakers. But like I said, if Golovkin would have tested positive, we wouldn't even be talking right now. He would have been suspended like they do over there un the UK. He would have been suspended for two years like Dillian Whyte," Sanchez explained to BoxingScene.com.
"That's why I don't allow anybody in my gym. I don't allow [Alex] Ariza, I don't allow coaches, I don't allow [Memo] Heredia. One day Roy Jones was in Big Bear with [Jean] Pascal, and Heredia was with them and they wanted to use my gym, because my gym is bigger - and I refused. [The public] says that [Memo] is clean, but I don't care. I care about my fighters, I care about my gym. I don't want that association, I don't want that reputation.
"If Gennady would have tested positive... his winning record, his amateur record - all of that would have been in question."
