Abel Sanchez: Cotto wouldn't last five rounds with Golovkin

It's a war of words between two outspoken, accomplished trainers, with Freddie Roach saying that Miguel Cotto would "kick Gennady Golovkin's ass," and Abel Sanchez now responding that Cotto wouldn't last five rounds with his fighter.

"Miguel Cotto couldn't go five rounds, and Freddie Roach knows that and Miguel Cotto knows that," said Sanchez. "Freddie gets on a rant like that and goes over the top to deflect the real questions so that he doesn't have to give true answers. But Freddie knows the truth."

Sanchez is probably right about Roach to some degree, as Freddie has a habit of making big statements about his fighters and what they will do -- Pacquiao's always going to knock people out, asses will be kicked, and so on.

Cotto-Golovkin is an intriguing fight because Cotto (39-4, 32 KO) is a skilled fighter and a good puncher, and even though he's a very small middleweight, he is the lineal champion and WBC titleholder, and he's more talented than anyone Golovkin has faced to date.

But Golovkin (31-0, 28 KO) has been a wrecking ball at 160, and would have some major advantages. He's bigger than Cotto, younger, fresher, and is rightfully fighting with a lot of confidence these days.

Reality is, we'll probably never find out. There's bigger money and a safer opportunity (not that it's safe) in fighting Canelo Alvarez at 154 pounds or a sub-160 catchweight, and it seems like few really expect Cotto to defend his middleweight championship. It's almost more of a vanity title that he got from beating a visibly shot Sergio Martinez. It'll go on Cotto's Hall of Fame plaque, but is he really the middleweight champion? Does he intend to fight at middleweight again?

If Cotto and Golovkin met, who comes out on top, and is it competitive?