The two biggest boxing stars of the last 15 years are Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Last September, Mayweather retired from the sport and Manny Pacquiao followed that move by retiring in April. While most expected both to return, only Pacquiao has announced a comeback. With Mayweather’s absence there was room for another star to emerge to the top and most feel the fighter to take his mantel is non other then the undefeated IBO middleweight champion Gennady ‘GGG’ Govlokin.

In the third and final part of my “On The Ropes” boxing radio interview with trainer Abel Sanchez, I get his thoughts on the return of Manny Pacquiao and get his views on the upcoming fight with Jesse Vargas. Abel also talks about Floyd Mayweather’s future and if he thinks Floyd would consider a fight with Golovkin. Additionally Sanchez gives his thoughts on a Andre Ward fight for Golovkin and who there is to fight at 168. Here is what Abel Sanchez had to say.

Jenna J: Manny Pacquiao is making a return to the ring to face Jessie Vargas. What do you think of Pacquiao deciding to continue to box?

Abel Sanchez: I think that he still has a lot left, I think that he’s still young in todays boxing. I think that he’s in with a guy that he should be able to beat. Jessie is a good fighter, he’s just not on the level of Manny Pacquiao. I don’t think that they can BS the public again and sell a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight again — at least I don’t think the public will buy it, at least I don’t. It can’t be any different than it was in the past, but I commend him for wanting to continue to train as hard as they do to stay at that level.

Jenna J: Do you think he will win the fight?

Abel Sanchez: He’s going to beat Vargas, Vargas is not quite the fighter that Manny is. Manny is not past the point where guys like that can beat him.

Jenna J: Mayweather is rumored to come back potentially in May of next year. Do you think when Mayweather returns to the ring that he will still be an elite fighter?

Abel Sanchez: I think he still will be an elite fighter. I think Mayweather comes back and is still king. Mayweather hasn’t had the kinds of fights that are going to make him grow old overnight. You have to have difficult fights in your career for your body to all of the sudden not want to cooperate. Mayweather hasn’t had that, he’s had the luxury of fighting his style and not making it difficult on himself.

Mayweather hasn’t fought anyone — except for Maidana — that really pressed him to change and do things that are out of the ordinary for him, as evident in the Pacquiao fight. He was able to handle Manny because Floyd is Floyd. I think he’s still the number one fighter in the world if he comes back.

Jenna J: Gennady Golovkin’s name continues to grow, do you still hold out hope that Mayweather may be willing to entertain a fight at 154lbs against Golovkin?

Abel Sanchez: The one thing about Floyd is that he’s a brilliant businessman, he thinks about legacy and thinks about where he’s going to be considered in the future. I think that the only way that Floyd would take a fight with Golovkin is if he believes he can beat him and if it’s the kind of money that he wants. He’s a brilliant businessman.

If Golovkin keeps doing what he’s doing and breaks Hopkins’ record, I think that then Floyd has something to hang his hat on, that he was able to beat the guy that broke Hopkins’ record in the last unified middleweight champion. I think that’s something that Floyd would covet.

Jenna J: If Gennady can’t get the fights he wants at middleweight, people are going to call for him to move up. The one fight fans still want to see is a fight with Andre Ward. Do you think that fight can still be made at 168lbs?

Abel Sanchez: That is impossible. Andre Ward has already stated that he could have never made 168lsb and that’s why he moved up to 175lbs. He stated it, not me. If that fight would have been made with Andre, it wouldn’t have been at 168lbs, it would have been at 170lbs. I don’t think that he wants to come back down, I don’t see him winning against Kovalev and maybe if he loses to Kovalev he will come down.

There’s all kinds of opportunities, of course we can move up, but Golovkin first wants to be the unified champion and Saunders is still holding one of the belts. It is a possibility, but in the near future I don’t see it happening unless it’s Gilberto Ramirez some time in the beginning of next year because he’s been very vocal about wanting to fight Golovkin and he’s really the only one who has a fan base at 168lbs that would make the fight attractive. Who else at super middleweight is out there for us to fight that we can sell to the public?

Jenna J: What about James DeGale in the UK?

Abel Sanchez: You’re right, you’re absolutely right. We are open to going back to the UK and fighting DeGale or fighting Eubank, because we can sell those fights over there. Here in the United States, nobody is going to support out super middleweight champions, so we do have to go overseas. Golovkin definitely wants to be the unified champion.