By Sean Jones: Trainer Johnathon Banks reveals that he already said “NO” to Canelo Alvarez’s team for a fight between him and Gennadiy Golovkin this September.
Banks says that the popular Golden Boy Promotions star Canelo’s team contacted him to let them know that they were interested in making the fight with GGG in September, and he rejected that idea because Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) has already got plans.
Golovkin to face Szeremeta next
GGG will be making a defense of his IBF middleweight title against mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta (20-0, 4 KOs). It’s not a glamorous fight but it looks like that’s what Banks and Golovkin want for his next match when the boxing is given the green light to continue in the United States.
The sport is still in lockdown due to the global pandemic. Szeremeta is a good tune-up level opponent, but he’s not someone that will attract fans to subscribe to DAZN to see Golovkin fight him.
It won’t make fans happy that Golovkin won’t be fighting Canelo this September, as they were looking forward to seeing those two to meet up in a trilogy match. There’s very little interest in the boxing world in seeing Golovkin defend his IBF belt against #1 IBF Szeremeta.
There would if the Polish fighter Szeremeta had beaten some notable opposition for him to earn the mandatory spot to face Golovkin. He’s not done that, and even many of the hardcore fans have never seen Szeremeta fight before. In this case, Golovkin would be better off facing Canelo than making a defense of his IBF belt.
Golovkin WON’T fight Canelo in September
“No, they [Team Canelo] called me about it, and I said, “NO,” said Banks to IFL TV when asked if he would be happy to let Golovkin fight Canelo in September in his first fight back. “The plan was for him [Golovkin] to get this fight [against Kamil Szeremeta] and get another fight, and then fight Canelo.
“When we went to Canelo and said, ‘We’re ready,’ he said, ‘NO, I don’t want to fight,’ and he disappeared and went and did whatever he wanted to do and refused to fight.
“Now he’s [Canelo] saying, ‘Ah, okay, I’m ready. After this, let’s do it.’ He’s [GGG] like, ‘No, I already have something planned [against Szeremeta]. So if you want to do this, let me get this fight out the way. Then if everything is still a go, then let’s come together.'”
Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs) and his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions will need to find someone else for his next match, be it in 2020 or 2021. Golovkin, 38, appears to be more interested in getting a warm-up match and easy payday against Szeremeta before facing Canelo in their third fight.
If Golovkin turns down the Canelo trilogy match, it could result in the fight not happening for a long time. Ideally, you’d like to think that Canelo would handle being told ‘No’ by Team Golovkin without getting upset about it.
If Canelo reacts with anger at being put off by GGG, he could make Golovkin wait another year before facing him again. Golovkin will be turning 39 in 2021. At that point, Canelo won’t receive credit if he beats him.
Banks WARNED GGG about Derevyanchenko
“It’s great. We laugh, we talk, and we were in camp when this pandemic broke out, and we had a great camp when they closed all the gyms, and we went home,” said Banks on his relationship with Golovkin. “It’s great. He’s a fighter’s fighter. He wants to be in the ring to fight, and he wants to get back to where he was at.
“Well, I’ll tell you this. People keep saying, ‘styles make fights,’ but no one says nothing about this fight [Golovkin vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko]. When this fight was first presented to me, I didn’t like it because when I first got to the press conference, I’m very open and honest about my opinion.
“I said this fight is going to be like a Ward-Gatti fight,” said Banks about Golovkin’s last match against Derevyanchenko. “It’s going to be tooth and nail because if you make a statement saying ‘styles make fights,’ then I would like people to understand what style to that style comparison, what kind of fight is it going to make,” said Banks on the GGG vs. Derevyanchenko battle.
In hindsight, Golovkin should have listened to Banks and not taken the fight with Derevyanchenko. That fight proved to be a grueling one for GGG, as he took a lot of punishment in winning a questionable 12 round unanimous decision last October.
Golovkin might have believed that he needed the IBF title for him to ensure he gets the third fight with Canelo. The truth is, Canelo is obligated to fight Golovkin a third time due to his high priced $365 million contract with DAZN. Golovkin didn’t need to go after the vacant IBF middleweight title against Derevyanchenko for him to get the third match with Canelo.
Andrade was the opponent Banks wanted for Golovkin
“The whole camp, I was telling GGG, ‘this is going to be a bloody mess. I don’t like the fight,” said Banks on Derevyanchenko. “‘It’s going to be a bloody mess.’ If I had a choice, I would have chosen Demetrius Andrade or something. I would have chosen him because that would have been a better match-up.
“That would have been a better fight [for Golovkin] stylistic-wise. But this fight [GGG vs. Derevyanchenko] was more of a fan-friendly fight because you get to go tooth and nail, toe-to-toe back and forth.
“So I knew it was going to be that type of fights, so that’s why I prepared GGG to dig deep to be able to go the 12 rounds if needed,” said Banks.
WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade would have been a tough fight as well for Golovkin, but he likely wouldn’t have taken as much punishment. Andrade isn’t a body puncher, and he’s been hurt by fighters with average power.
Golovkin would have had a far easier time against Andrade than he did against Derevyanchenko. It would have been a difficult type for Golovkin in dealing with Andrade’s boxing skills, and southpaw stance. There would have been more for GGG to gain in fighting Andrade than with his decision to take on Derevyanchenko.
“It’s just a lot of things that I want to hear from the fighter directly, and then it allows me to do my job better,” said Banks.
The fact that Golovkin chose to fight Derevyanchenko shows that Banks isn’t the one calling the shots in terms of his match-making.
Eubank Jr. has nothing to offer for GGG
“I really believe Chris Eubank Jr. was offered this fight awhile ago. He turned it down,” said Banks when told that Eubank Jr. wants to fight Golovkin. “So now he’s calling for the fight [with GGG].
“My question is, ‘what does he have to offer?’ And believe me, this is no disrespect to Chris Eubank Jr. I do everything I can always to give the fighters the utmost respect, always.
“But this is no disrespect to him, but if GGG were to ask me, ‘Who should we fight?’ I’m like, ‘What’s on the table? What do we have to offer?'” said Banks on Eubank Jr., not bringing much to the table for Golovkin.
Banks is wrong about Eubank Jr. not bringing much to the table. He’s got a fan base in the UK, and there would be a lot of interest from British and American fans in a fight between him and GGG. Eubank Jr. is now trained by boxing great Roy Jones Jr., and he’s making a lot of improvements in his game.
Golovkin would stand to gain a lot more fighting Eubank Jr. than he will in facing little known Kamil Szeremeta. That fight is a waste of Golovkin and DAZN’s time. GGG needs to think hard before he goes through with the fight with Szeremeta because it’s not the right time for him to be taking a soft match.
Golovkin needs to consider things from DAZN’s standpoint. They need to bring their lost subscribers back, and they’re not going to be able to do that with GGG milking his IBF title against weak opposition that no one has ever heard of and don’t care to see. Eubank Jr. is a far better choice for Golovkin over Kamil Szeremeta in terms of attracting new subscribers to DAZN.
Banks lets the fighters make the ultimate decision
“Well, honestly, I like to say, I don’t like to be a dictator to a certain degree,” said Banks when asked if he’s the one that makes the decision on who Golovkin fights. “Certain things, I need your opinion on, because you are going in there fighting. You are going in there, taking these punches. I’m not.
“And a lot of coaches will tell you, ‘Yeah, we’re going in there together, we’re going through this together, and we’re going into the ring again.’ But I understand, I’m not taking these punches. Therefore, I’m going to ask you, ‘What do you want to do? This is your choice. If you look at me and say, coach, this is what I want to do. I’m going to go out there and do whatever I can to make sure you get your choice.
“So if you say, I don’t want to do the business part now. This is who I want to fight. Just go make it happen.’ Boom, I’m off the races because I got a one-track mind, this is what my guy wants, and this is what we’re going to do.
“So even dealing with Wladimir [Klitschko], I just wanted to talk to him to make sure this is who you choose. This is who you want to fight, and I just want to hear from them. So whatever happens in the fight; if you get tired, you start acting a little lackadaisical, I’ve got to use that against you. ‘Man, where you going? You wanted this fight. Isn’t this the fight you said you wanted? Well, then let’s pick up and fight then.'”
Banks isn’t the one that decides on GGG’s opponents.
