By Dan Ambrose: Gennadiy Golovkin’s ex-trainer Abel Sanchez says he believes GGG will wind up with a beat-up looking face if he boxes Canelo Alvarez in their trilogy fight on September 17th.
If Golovkin boxes Canelo, his face will look beaten up in his fight against Sergiy Derevyanchenko in 2019. Golovkin spent much of that fight throwing jabs and backing up to avoid the weaker fighter Derevyanchenko the entire battle.
In the end, Golovkin won a controversial 12 round unanimous decision that few boxing fans agreed with. Interestingly, Jermall Charlo fought Derevyanchenko in 2020 and beat him with ease using his power game.
Sanchez feels that the only way Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) has a chance against Canelo is if he fights the way he used to years ago when he would stalk his opponents and look to knock them out.
Golovkin transformed his game from a slugger to a boxer ever since his rematch with Canelo in 2018, which made his work more challenging, according to Sanchez.
Golovkin’s trainer Johnathon Banks mentioned recently that he too wanted him to return to his former fighting style, but he’s failed to do so.
Golovkin may be stuck in a rut after changing his regular seek & destroy style of fighting for his rematch with Canelo in 2018. It’s debatable whether Golovkin is coachable at this stage of his long career.
If Golovkin isn’t willing to change his fighting style because he thinks he knows better, Banks or any coach is useless to him. Golovkin might as well be out there on his own with just a cutman in his corner instead of a coach.
Rather than taking a good look at that fight and figuring out that boxing doesn’t work for him, Golovkin has stuck with that style in his last three fights and has looked less than spectacular.
Canelo could make a mess of Gennadiy’s face
“I would love to say that your assumption is correct, but what has been happening in the gym and what he’s been doing to prepare for fights and how he’s approaching the fight,” said Abel Sanchez to Fight Hub TV when told that Golovkin will put in a better performance against Canelo Alvarez than in their two previous fights against him.
“I’m not saying he’s not in shape. I’m sure he’s in great shape,” said Sanchez about Gennadiy. “Like I said, he’s got a good coach [Johnathon Banks], but I think him trying to be a boxer, trying to be a technician will play right into Canelo’s hands.
“I think that just like [Sergiy] Derevyanchenko did to his face, I think that is a possibility only because he’s going to try to box and not give himself the opportunity to be Gennadiy,” said Sanchez on Golovkin taking punishment against Canelo if he tries to box him.
Golovkin doesn’t seem willing to brawl like he used to do, which is unfortunate he was one of the best punchers in the game. The last fight in which Golovkin used his old fighting style was when he fought Kell Brook in 2016.
That was a highly entertaining match in which Golovkin chased Brook around the ring, battering him throughout the contest until the British fighter stopped fighting back in the fifth.
Murata will be a brutal fight for Gennadiy
“That’s a difficult fight too, and it’s not because [Ryota] Murata is all that,” said Abel when told that Golovkin still needs to win his April 9th contest against WBA middleweight champion Ryota Murata for him to be able to get the September 17th trilogy match against Canelo.
As robotic and one-paced as Murata is, this should be a simple fight for Golovkin if he goes after the 2012 Olympic gold medalist.
Hassan N’Dam and Rob Brant have already beaten Murata, who were not great fighters. But Sanchez is right about this potentially a hard fight for Golovkin if he tries to box Murata because he’ll be playing into his hands.
At this point in Golovkin’s career, it’s unclear how coachable he is.
“Murata was here training with Gennady when Murata had three or four fights [in 2014] right after the Olympics, and they boxed probably two days. It was the kind of sparring that Gennadiy had against Canelo when Canelo first came here when he was 20-years-old.
“I’m not going to say it was easy, but Gennadiy played with him [Murata], he helped him and didn’t try to take advantage of him as he did with Canelo. That was four or five years ago, six years ago.
“Murata is a different fighter. Yes, he has a loss against [Rob] Brant, but Gennadiy isn’t the Gennadiy of old of these days either. It’s not going to be a very, very difficult fight, but it will be a difficult fight for Gennadiy. He should win, but it’s not going to be easy.”
If Golovkin can’t beat Murata, he needs to hang it up because that would be a clear sign that he’s washed. Murata would likely be destroyed by Jermall Charlo, Demetrius Andrade, or Zhanibek Alimkhanuly.
Even Jaime Munguia and Chris Eubank Jr. would make easy work of the 35-year-old Murata, who hasn’t fought since 2019.
The magic question is why the World Boxing Association has allowed Murata to keep his WBA title for over two years without defending it.
Golovkin can make it easy if he slugs
“No,” said Sanchez when told that a lot of people think Golovkin is going to blow through the 35-year-old Murata on April 9th. “Again, it all depends on what approach he takes into the fight.
“If he takes into the fight that he’s a boxer like he tried to do against Derevyanchenko and the last couple of guys [Kamil Szeremeta and Steve Rolls], then, no, he’s not going to blow through him.
“If he goes out there and does what Gennadiy does best or what Gennadiy used to do best, then, yes, it’s an easy fight,” said Sanchez about Golovkin’s unification contest against WBA 160-lb champion Murata.
Again, Golovkin is stuck in a rut, holding onto that pure boxing style that he used for his rematch with Canelo, and he doesn’t seem to know to revert to the fighter he was before that.
