By: Sean Crose
Talking to FightHype at the WBC congress in Acapulco, celebrity coach Abel Sanchez had some substantial news to offer. “I am retired,” he said. “Selling my gym and I absolutely don’t like it.” However, the man who has led Gennady Golovkin to become one of the most authoritarian forces in boxing is not at all out of the game. “I want to stay involved in this part of it,” Sanchez said, essentially saying he wants to continue in the bout without training the boxers. Sanchez was asked if he would become a commentator. “Perhaps so,” he said. “I want to spend some time in my family fight right now.”
He may not be a coach anymore, but it’s clear Sanchez has something to say about Golovkin’s old rival Canelo Alvarez. Although Canelo beat Golovkin with ease recently in their third match (Golovkin was no longer coached by Sanchez at the time) Canelo was defeated by the talented Dmitry Bivol last spring. Suffice it to say that Canelo faces WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol in a rematch. Sanchez didn’t think it was the best course of action.
“In my opinion,” he said of Canelo, “he should just be 168. There are a few lion cubs at that weight that want a chance with him.” Sure enough, Canelo had to gain weight to take on Bivol in the light heavyweight division. And indeed, the man has done quite well in his role at super-average. “I think that’s probably his best weight,” said Sanchez. “One sixty is also a good weight for him, but 175s is a bit or big for him.”
With all that said, Sanchez admits he’s impressed with Bivol. “I have to credit Bivol a lot for what he did in the last two games,” said Sanchez. “It was an uphill battle for Canelo. Bivol is an older person. He’s a natural at that weight, and I think it’s going to be very difficult for Canelo to beat him. “It’s not that he has anything bad to say about multi-level champion Canelo. On the contrary. “He took a risk,” Sanchez said as Canelo jumped to light heavyweight to face Bivol, “and it was a bit too much. big for him. I think all great champions are like that, aspire to rise and hopefully command those divisions.”
In other words, despite losing, Sanchez feels Canelo deserves credit for daring to be great. “He fought one of the best in that weight class,” he said of Canelo’s jump to light heavyweight. “It will be an uphill fight for Bivol if it drops to 168 but at 175 I think that’s the weight for him, and Canelo is too small.”
