Abel Sanchez: “Andre Ward’s a big guy but I think that Golovkin ekes out a close decision”

With the 2014 boxing year heading to a close, fans are looking to the new year and what fights we might see in 2015 from the sports’ biggest stars. With the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight nowhere in sight, the fight fans now want to see is Mayweather-Golovkin, and almost any fight involving ‘GGG’, who burst out this year as a must see star.

In part 2 of my special “On The Ropes” interview with trainer Abel Sanchez, I talk to him about the likelihood of Mayweather taking on Golovkin in the new year. I also discuss a potential Golovkin-Ward match and how he believe that fight plays out. Additionally, I get Abel’s thoughts on fights that he would like to see happen and his message to the fighters near and around Golovkin’s weight class. Here is what Abel Sanchez had to say.

Jenna J: What do you think is more likely, that Mayweather takes a fight with Manny Pacquiao or takes the risk of fighting Gennady Golovkin?

Abel Sanchez: I think we have to wait on that one until the Algieri fight to see how good Pacquiao looks. If he doesn’t look good even if he wins, then it’s not a profitable fight for Floyd.

Floyd understands the business as well as anybody in the boxing business and if it’s not a profitable fight and Golovkin does well against Murray, Floyd has got some decisions to make. Floyd’s about making the biggest fights and if Golovkin is the biggest fight, I’m sure that he’ll consider it.

Jenna J: I want to get your views on Andre Ward. He’s been away for some time but people still want to see him face Golovkin. Do you think he needs to come back and have a few fights before he can consider taking that fight?

Abel Sanchez: No, Andre’s a great fighter, Andre’s a talent. I think that Andre needs to get his stuff straightened out so that when he goes into a fight of this magnitude he’s one hundred percent mentally — physically he’s a specimen. He’s proven that he’s the best 168lr’er but I think that what Andre’s people have to do if they are intent of making that fight, then they should call Tom Loeffler and make an offer and see where it goes.

I think at this point Golovkin is not the one that needs to be chasing, I think that he is at a point now where guys want to fight him like Andre and Carl Froch in England. I think that some talks have to be made between the two promoters and if we don’t make an offer, let them make an offer and let us turn it down, that way they can come back and say, “Well you know, they don’t want to fight us.” Andre I think believes that if he gets that stuff straightened out he can right into a big fight, he’s that much of a talent.

Jenna J: How does that fight go today, Golovkin vs. Ward?

Abel Sanchez: I think it’s a great twelve round fight where there may be knockdowns, maybe on both sides. Andre’s a big guy but I think that Golovkin ekes out a close decision just because Golovkin’s strength and power will prevail in the later part of the fight.

Jenna J: You as a trainer, what fights do you want to see happen in the sport?

Abel Sanchez: I’m looking forward to Golovkin fighting the big names in the sport. I’m looking forward to Canelo finally stepping up and fighting like people are expecting him to. There’s a young man from Mexico named Gilberto Ramirez who I’d like to see fight a descent guy who may give him problems.

I’m really interested in this Mauricio Herrera-Jose Benavidez coming up to see if Benavidez is the real thing, because Herrera will bring everything out of him if he has anything. There’s a few fights that I’d like to see in the lower divisions, Vasyl Lomachenko and Nicholas Walters I would love to see. There’s a lot of great fights out there but it seems like the business of boxing doesn’t allow them to happen.

Jenna J: I want to talk about your stable of fighters. Can you let the fans know some of the fighters that you’re working with?

Abel Sanchez: I have Sullivan Barrera fighting on November the 8th on the Hopkins-Kovalev card, he’s 13-0. I have Jayson Velez fighting the 29th of November in Omaha, Nebraska; he’s challenging Evgeny Gradovich for the featherweight title.

December 6th I have Joel Diaz fighting in Canada — we don’t have an opponent yet — and hopefully on December the 20th or sometime around there I have Mike Perez back in my gym and we’ll be fighting against an opponent to be named.

Jenna J: Final question, if there’s any message out there you could pass along to the people in or around Gennady Golovkin’s weight class, what would you say to them?

Abel Sanchez: I would say that we are open to all comers, Tom Loeffler’s phone is always answered. Let’s make some good fights, I think the public deserves this continuance of great action fights and boxing will have a big resurgence.

MMA and UFC is starting to die out and the boxing matches, if they continue the way that we’ve had like with the Walters and Donaire clash — what a great fight that was — and then of course our fight, maybe didn’t live up to what people wanted from Rubio, but we did what we had to do. If we can get those kinds of fights to continue, I think that boxing will be great in 2015.