Abel Sanchez: “After talking all that smack, Canelo was a runner. Golovkin turned him into a Mayweather”

15 Submitted by on Mon, 19 February 2018, 17:47

Trainer Abel Sanchez finally got the match he wanted when Gennady “GGG” Golovkin faced off against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September of 2017. Many fight fans were expecting a fight of the year type of match, but were given a tactical affair that saw Canelo move for a majority of the fight. The fight went the distance and was controversially scored a draw, with neither side happy with the scoring in the bout. Now, the rematch is set for May 5th and many hope this fight not only lives up to the hype but also does not disappoint with its result.

In part 2 of my “On The Ropes” boxing radio interview with Abel Sanchez, I discuss with him the way the first fight played out and how he thinks Golovkin dealt with Canelo’s movement. Abel also talks about the chances Golovkin will show his age in the rematch and gives his thoughts on the only way he could see Golovkin losing. Additionally, Sanchez talks about the rematch going to the scorecards and if he thinks Golovkin needs a KO to win. Here is what Abel Sanchez had to say.

Jenna J: Abel, a lot of people were surprised by how much Canelo stayed away from Golovkin, how much he moved, do you think Golovkin will be more prepared for that this time, so that he can make the fight more decisive?

Abel Sanchez: He was prepared for that last time, he won. It would have been a more convincing win if Canelo had stopped a little bit. But remember, Golovkin has 350 amateur fights, he’s seen everything in the ring. Canelo surprised the fight fans after talking all that smack, he was a runner. Canelo turned into Floyd. McGregor turned Floyd into a Mexican and Golovkin turned Canelo into a Floyd.

It behooves Canelo — with as much talking as he’s doing this far away from the fight about his legacy and how he’s going to be remembered — to at least make it a fight. If he makes it a fight, who knows what can happen.

When Canelo sat down, he was effective in the first fight, he just didn’t do it because he knew he’d get knocked out. If he does it more, maybe we get the kind of fight that we were expecting, and maybe Canelo hits hard enough to hurt Golovkin, but you’re never going to find out by back pedaling and running. Canelo needs to do what he’s saying and then anything can happen, they are both big punchers and one shot can turn a fight around.

Jenna J: Being the fact that the fight was a draw, do you think Golovkin will feel pressure to score a knockout to prevent a controversial decision this time?

Abel Sanchez: No, I think that these guys are so experienced that they are not going to take unnecessarily chances, they are going to do what they think is necessary in their mind to win. We outside the ring see something different than they see. We’re going to implore them to do the things that we want them to do, but at the end of the day they are the ones inside the ring that are taking the chances. They are experienced enough to have an idea of where they’re at.

You’re not going to see one guy change dramatically from something he has done in the past. Canelo has fought a little differently in the past, he changed dramatically for this fight and he lost the fight. Golovkin has never been a Provodnikov or Brandon Rios who just goes out and throws caution to the wind, and neither is Canelo. So I don’t think we’re going to see something different.

Jenna J: One of the things Golden Boy banked on was if they held the fight off long enough, Golovkin may start showing signs of age. Going into the rematch, Golovkin will be 36 years old. What are the chances that we see Golovkin age a little bit?

Abel Sanchez: I don’t know, I’m not father time. In the gym I see the same things I saw before. Obviously we are training different than we did eight years ago because he is getting a little bit older, but until somebody really dominates him in a way that the speed is too much or the boxing is too much, then I’ll say he’s getting old. Until now, nobody has done that, Canelo didn’t do that. I will tell you this, I will be brutally honest when I see it in the gym or if I see it in a fight.

Jenna J: If somehow Golovkin loses the rematch, what would you say would be most attributed to that loss? Would you say it was age or improvements from Canelo?

Abel Sanchez: It all depends on how the fight goes. If he gets dominated completely, then we have to look at it realistically, but if he loses a nail-bitter and it’s close, then the business of boxing tends to do things that are beneficial to the sport.

I said three years ago that I thought this could be a trilogy, I thought it was that kind of fight. I’ve always though that it could be a trilogy, and our sport needs those kinds of rivalries. I think if we continue to feed the sport those kinds of top notch fights, I think we’re going to do well in 2018, as we did in 2017.

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15 Responses to "Abel Sanchez: “After talking all that smack, Canelo was a runner. Golovkin turned him into a Mayweather”"
  1. Terry Spicer says:

    GGG lost that fight Abel…

  2. Jong says:

    one of 2017’s biggest robberies. wasn’t even close. ggg won 8 maybe 9 rounds.

  3. Jong says:

    canelo was broken by the 8th. you could see it in his eyes and body language. even in the 10th-12th where he would start well because he knew he was way behind, he would eventually revert back to being dominated in the final 2 minutes of those rounds because he just couldn’t bring it to ggg anymore.

  4. My Low Place says:

    so let me get this straight…the guy how is the “best” ring cutter in boxing…the guy who killed movers like daniel geale is now have trouble with the stuck in sand canelo…

    somebody has some explaining to do…

  5. New England says:

    this guy should just shut up and train his fighter to hit a moving target with power shots. canelo is not a runner. he landed a lot of clean, hard shots on golovkin. abel should be thankful his guy has a hell of a chin.

    • aboutfknGGGtime says:

      Should be thankful Canelo could run for 12 rounds and get beat up through the entire fight as well, was impressive heart and chin on display by Canelo, but terrible boxing IQ he got badly exposed.

  6. Bronx2245 says:

    Unlike GGG, Floyd Mayweather beat Canelo!

  7. Najuk says:

    Canelo was running for 12 rounds like cowards mayweather and Ward

  8. j.razor says:

    If Nelo turned to Mayweather then that would mean you admit your guy lost, idiot! LOL

  9. Dr.Cool says:

    Sanchez should give his fighter some credit. G did not get embarrassed by Canelo like Canelo did by Mayweather. Canelo was good, but it was a close fight and a draw was reasonable. He must be trying to get G motivated if he is telling him he looked like Canelo did against Floyd.

  10. Robi13 says:

    what about the whole “no one from 154-168 goes 12 with Golovkin talk” and also, didn’t Abel say prior to the canelo fight, that if the fight went 12, then they failed and should lose the fight? Or something like this that?

  11. Gary Coleman says:

    He’d trying to goad Canelo into being more stationary so that Gennady can get his shots off.

    It’s pathetic.

  12. ruedboy says:

    If Alvarez retired today, he would probably be remembered for his one punch KO of an overmatched Khan.
    If he is concerned about his legacy, he’s got to look like he wants to take the title from the champ, not like he wants the judges to give it to him.
    “You’ve got to beat the Champ”.

  13. STEVE says:

    Canelo was young and inexperienced when he fought Mayweather. Canelo has come a long way and did well moving around for a flat footed boxer. GGG still beat him by far.