With Gennady Golovkin set to face Dominic Wade on April 23, much of the talk surrounding GGG is still about Canelo Alvarez, the fighter he hopes to face in September of this year, with a deal that has already supposedly been worked out.
FightHub's Marcos Villegas spoke with Golovkin's trainer Abel Sanchez about that potential fight, bringing up the possibility of a catchweight with Alvarez, who has fought at 155 pounds for his last four fights. Sanchez says that the agreement in place with the WBC mandates that it be a 160-pound title fight, with that weight as the limit, should the fight go to purse bid.
"We're fighting for the 160 pound title. There's not going to be a 155 pound catchweight. There's not. It doesn't matter what he offers. It's not going to be at 155. It's going to be at 160," he said. But Sanchez did add that there are potential options that could make a catchweight fight a possibility, though none of them make Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KO) sound good.
"Now if this fight was to happen once Golovkin was champion, and they come to us, and (Canelo) gives up the belt, now Golovkin is champion, now he's unified champion, then there's negotiations that could be possible. But for this belt, it has to be 160 pounds."
Whether or not Canelo actually fights Golovkin (34-0, 31 KO) isn't a major concern to Sanchez right now, he said.
"It doesn't matter to me. If the diva doesn't fight us, it doesn't matter. Seriously. Because of the catchweight and because of all the things that not only him but Cotto have done to insult all the 160 pound champions of the past. If he doesn't fight us, they strip him. Golovkin becomes the champion. That's one step closer to being the unified champion."
Gennady's next opponent, Dominic Wade (18-0, 12 KO) is being looked at by most as all but a walkover opponent, the IBF mandatory challenger and someone Golovkin will merely stay active against when they meet at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Sanchez admits that on paper, the fight isn't particularly interesting, but that Wade may have more in his toolbox than he's shown.
"To be honest, in watching the videos, I haven't seen anything really extra special," he said. "But whenever you step up to the plate against the supposed bogeyman, something grows in you, something makes you -- the reason you accepted the fight is because you have a chance. It makes you a better fighter, it makes you a better thinker, it makes you a more dedicated fighter in the gym, it makes you more disciplined.
"The fact that he's 18-0 tells me we don't much about him, and he's still 18-0. And he had a great amateur career. I followed him in the amateurs. A couple of my friends trained. We're not looking for an easy fight. We're looking for a difficult fight. If it ends up being an easy fight, good. But let's look at it as this guy is the next coming at middleweight."