Abel Sanchez proud two Mexicans are trainers for big Sept. 16 showdown

Abel Sanchez/Photo courtesy of BoxRec.com

Abel Sanchez trains middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, who Sept. 16 will defend his titles against Canelo Alvarez of Mexico at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (on HBO pay-per-view.

During a conference call Monday, Sanchez was asked how cool it is that he and Alvarez’s head trainer – Eddy Reynoso – are currently looked upon as top trainers, instead of say Freddie Roach and Floyd Mayweather Sr., both of whom have gotten a lot of ink in past years.

Sanchez replied in prideful tones.

“Well, first of all, I’m extremely proud that two Mexicans are guiding the two best fighters in the sport and we are going to be meeting each other for supremacy on the 16th,” said Sanchez, a Mexican-American who grew up in West Covina. “I will be extremely happy that the fans recognize the fact that it’s not only Canelo as a Mexican, but Gennady has a Mexican style, but Eddy and I are both very proud Mexicans.”

Golovkin, of Kazakhstan, is 37-0 with 33 knockouts. Alvarez is 49-1-1 with 34 knockouts.

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Eric Gomez confirms Dodgers offer to host Golovkin-Alvarez on Sept. 16

May 6, 2017. Las Vegas NV. (C) Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya watches  (L-R)  Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez pose together for the first time with Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin (GGG ) at a after boxing press conference Saturday at T-Mobile arena. Golden Boy Promotions made the official announcement of the long awaited  fight  that will happen in September this year with location still unknown.Photo by Gene Blevins/LA DailyNews/SCNG

Canelo Alvarez, left, and Gennady Golovkin pose after their fight was announced for Sept. 16 at a site still to be determined/Photo by Gene Blevins

 

Eric Gomez, president of Golden Boy Promotions, on Saturday confirmed a report that Magic Johnson and the Dodgers have made an offer to host the Sept. 16 middleweight title fight between champion Gennady Golovkin of Kazakhstan and Canelo Alvarez of Mexico at Dodger Stadium.
De La Hoya told the L.A. Times that he had a conversation with Johnson on Friday. Gomez said that talk came after he had three with Dodgers executive vice-president and chief marketing officer Lon Rosen.
“I had the initial talks with Lon and we set up a call with Magic and Oscar and Magic spoke with Oscar yesterday,” Gomez said Saturday afternoon. “They’re very interested.”

Gomez said he could not get into specifics about the proposal, “But it’s a very interesting offer. It’s something we’re going to explore. They’re very serious.”

Other strong contenders to host what figures to be a blockbuster event are AT&T Stadium near Dallas and T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Abel Sanchez: Canelo will have GGG in front of him, not Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

No one likes him: Gennady Golovkin slams 'boring' Canelo Alvarez after Chavez Jr win

HBO broadcaster Max Kellerman (center) speaks to Gennady Golovkin (left) and Canelo Alvarez after the Sept. 16 fight between Golovkin and Alvarez was announced following Alvarez’s victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. this past Saturday. Golovkin’s trainer, Abel Sanchez, stands between Kellerman and Golovkin/Photo by Getty Images

 

Trainer Abel Sanchez had just watched Canelo Alvarez of Mexico out-box and out-punch countryman Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Sanchez then sat on a makeshift dais inside the ring to discuss the Sept. 16 bout between his fighter – middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin – and Alvarez, which was announced immediately after Alvarez defeated Chavez by three scores of 120-108.

Sanchez was impressed with Alvarez’s work, but he reminded a reporter that Alvarez will be in with a different kind of beast when he challenges Golovkin at a site still to be determined.

“I think Canelo displayed great boxing skills,” Sanchez said. “But he’s not going to have Chavez in front of him (in September), it’s going to be Gennady Golovkin.”

Golovkin, 35, is 37-0 with 33 knockouts. He was on a string of 22 consecutive knockouts that was snapped in March when Daniel Jacobs went all 12 rounds with Golovkin in a hotly contested bout won by Golovkin by scores of 114-113, 115-112 and 115-112.

Alvarez, a former junior middleweight and middleweight champion, is 49-1-1 with 34 knockouts. At 26, he is nine years Golovkin’s junior.

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Report: Gennady Golovkin won’t fight Saunders, will wait for Canelo Alvarez

Undefeated, Unified World Middleweight Champion Gennady, “GGG” Golovkin works outs for the media on April 20, 2016 at the Wild Card West gym in Santa Monica. GGG will defend his titles (WBA, IBF, IBO and WBC against Undefeated Mandatory Challenger Dominic Wade on Saturday, April 23 at the Fabulous Forum.  (Photo by Gene Blevins/Southern California News Group)

Gennady Golovkin/Photo by Gene Blevins

 

Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin will not fight in June after all and will instead wait to see if he can get Canelo Alvarez in the ring in September, according to a report out of London by ESPN.com.

According to the report, Golovkin had been considering a fight with fellow champion Billy Joe Saunders for June 10 in Golovkin’s native Kazakhstan. But the combination of Golovkin getting banged up in his recent title defense against Daniel Jacobs and Saunders’ promoter Frank Warren wanting to move the fight up a week, Golovkin and his team – which includes K2 Promotions – has decided to pass up that fight and wait for Alvarez.

There is no guarantee Alvarez and his promoter – Oscar De La Hoya – will make the fight with Golovkin. Alvarez and De La Hoya both say they want to make it, but De La Hoya told reporters at a recent news conference that if Alvarez’s fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on May 6 at T-Mobile Arena ends up being terrific, he’d consider doing a rematch of that bout.

That would mean that if Alvarez were to win next month, and in a possible rematch with Chavez, Alvarez would not be getting into the ring with Golovkin until 2018.

The report suggested Golovkin would be interested in fighting  Chavez should he beat Alvarez.

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‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez, Gennady Golovkin once again paired on a card

Roman Gonzalez, left, of Nicaragua, lands a punch on Mexican champion Carlos Cuadras during a WBC super flyweight championship boxing match, Saturday, Sept. ...

Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez, left, lands a punch to the face of Carlos Cuadras in their super flyweight world-title fight in September at the Fabulous Forum/AP photo by Richard Vogel

 

Roman “Chocolatitio” Gonzalez fighting underneath a Gennady Golovkin main event has become a regular thing of late. It has been the case in three of their past four respective championship bouts.

They’ll do it again when Gonzalez defends his super flyweight world title against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai of Thailand on March 18 at Madison Square Garden, where that night middleweight champion Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) will take on Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) in the main event (on HBO pay-per-view).

Gonzalez (46-0, 38 KOs), of Nicaragua, believes Rungvisai is capable of giving him some grief in the ring.

“Rungvisai is a very tough fight for me,” said Gonzalez, who has won titles in four weight classes. “I know that he has fought many other great fighters, including Carlos Cuadras. But with my training and the blessing of God, I plan to come out victorious.”

Gonzalez in September became the first from his country to win titles in four weight classes when he took a unanimous decision over then-super flyweight champion Cuadras at the Fabulous Forum. Cuadras in May 2014 took the title from Rungvisai via eight-round technical decision in Cuadras’ native Mexico.

That’s the same belt Gonzalez took from Cuadras, and Rungvisai (41-4-1, 38 KOs) wants it back.

“I respect Roman Gonzalez,” he said. “He is a legend. He has done great things for boxing, especially by showing the world how talented and exciting smaller-weight fighters can be. I am happy for Nicaragua to have such a great hero.

“However, super flyweight is my weight. And the … belt is my belt. I will do whatever it takes to win my belt back and I am confident I can do it.”

 

 

 

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David Lemieux, Curtis Stevens can’t wait to get at each other on March 11

Gennady Golovkin, left, hits David Lemieux in the eighth round of a world middleweight title fight at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015. Golovkin won by a TKO in the eighth round. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

David Lemieux, right, absorbs serious punishment from Gennady Golovkin in their title-unification bout in October 2015 at Madison Square Garden in New York City/Associated Press photo by Rich Schultz

 

Apparently, there is no love lost between David Lemieux and Curtis Stevens. Now the hard-hitting middleweight contenders will be able to do something about that because they will tangle March 11 at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, N.Y. (on HBO).

The bout was officially announced Monday. Lemieux can’t wait to get at Stevens.

“The time for talking is done,” said Lemieux, a former world champion who lost his belt to Gennady Golovkin via eighth-round TKO in a title-unification bout in October 2015. “And after many long months of hearing Curtis yell about all the things he’s going to do in the ring, I’m really looking forward to shutting his mouth on March 11.”

Stevens has had one shot at a world title, but he was stopped after eight rounds by Golovkin in November 2013. Stevens is ranked as high as No. 3 in the world by one organization, the same of which ranks Lemieux No. 4.

“The wait is finally over,” Stevens said. “No more talking. My hands will do the talking on March 11.”

The bout will be co-promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events. De La Hoya believes the dislike Lemieux and Stevens have for one another is very real.

“You often see fighters pretend not to like each other to help draw an audience,” said De La Hoya, who promotes Lemieux. “These two guys aren’t faking it; they don’t like each other at all. Given the thunder each holds in both hands, and their desire to make a statement in the middleweight division, I think fans are going to be in for a knockout – a spectacular one at that.”

Lemieux, of Canada, is 36-3 with 32 knockouts. Stevens, of Brooklyn, is 29-5 with 21 knockouts.

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Gennady Golovkin on the way to again selling out Madison Square Garden

Gennady Golovkin celebrates his fifth-round TKO of Kell Brook in September in London/Photo by Associated Press

 

Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin sold out Madison Square Garden when he stopped David Lemieux in the eighth round in October 2015 before 20,548.

Golovkin on March 18 will square off with Daniel Jacobs in a title fight at MSG (on HBO pay-per-view). Although exact numbers weren’t available, a spokesman associated with the promotion said Tuesday that ticket sales for it were ahead of those for Golovkin-Lemieux.

Golovkin’s ever-rising popularity is partly responsible. Another factor is that Jacobs is from Brooklyn.

Golovkin, of Kazakhstan, is 36-0 with 33 knockouts. He is on a string of 23 consecutive knockouts. Jacobs, at 32-1 with 29 knockouts, is a very hard puncher in his own right.

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Bernard Hopkins will decipher recent fights of Golovkin, Canelo on Wednesday’s episode of ‘The Fight Game with Jim Lampley’

Gennady Golovkin lands a punch to the chest of Kell Brook during their Sept. 10 fight in England/Associated Press photo by Nick Potts

 

Future Hall of Fame fighter Bernard Hopkins on Wednesday night will decipher the recent performances of middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and now-junior middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on the next “The Fight Game with Jim Lampley,” on HBO.

Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) on Sept. 10 stopped Kell Brook in the fifth round of their title fight in England. A week later, Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) knocked out Liam Smith in the ninth round in Arlington, Texas. Boxing fans remain hopeful Golovkin and Alvarez will tangle next September.

There will also be a feature on manager Egis Klimas, who manages light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and super featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko.

 

 

 

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Longtime promoter Bob Arum shoots down foolish notion that boxing is dead

Bob-Arum-042015-Getty-FTR

Bob Arum/Getty Images file photo

 

Longtime promoter Bob Arum on Tuesday played host to a news conference in Los Angeles to formally announce the undercard for the Nov. 5 welterweight title fight between champion Jessie Vargas (27-1, 10 KOs) and Manny Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KOs) at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas (on Top Rank pay-per-view, $59.95).

Not one to miss an opportunity, Arum closed the proceedings by talking about how alive and well boxing is – contrary to what some think. It wasn’t long ago that an L.A.-area columnist (not from this newspaper) who doesn’t even cover boxing said boxing was dead.

“Boxing not only isn’t dead, but it’s on the cusp of a great resurgence,” Arum said on the dais at the Conga Room. “You have all of these great, young fighters from the United States, from Mexico and from all around the world who are coming to the world stage.”

While pondering that, just think of all the terrific fighters not from the U.S. or Mexico making a big splash here these days. We’re talking the likes of Gennady Golovkin, Vasyl Lomachenko, Sergey Kovalev, Kell Brook and Carl Frampton to name just five.

“We are on the cusp of really a time in boxing where people all around the world will join together to watch our great athletes perform,” Arum said.

The main undercard fight for Pacqjuiao-Vargas will have Nonito Donaire (37-3, 24 KOs) of San Leandro via the Philippines defending his super bantamweight belt against Jessie Magdaleno (23-0, 17 KOs) of Las Vegas.

Also, newly crowned featherweight champion Oscar Valdez (20-0, 18 KOs) of Mexico will defend his title against Hiroshige Osawa (30-3-4, 19 KOs) of Japan.

Finally, Zou Shiming (8-1, 2 KOs) of China and Prasitsak Papoem (39-1-2, 24 KOs) of Thailand will duke it out for a vacant flyweight world title.

 

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Canelo Alvarez knocks out Liam Smith in the ninth round to win title

Canelo Alverez (L) and Liam Smith (R) square up during a press conference to promote their fight

Canelo Alvarez, left, knocked out Liam Smith (right) in the ninth round Saturday in Arlington, Texas/Photo by Getty Images

 

Canelo Alvarez of Mexico on Saturday night once again became a world champion in the junior middleweight division when he knocked out champion Liam Smith of England in the ninth round of their bout before an announced crowd of 51,240 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) decked Smith (23-1-1) three times on his way to victory – the last two times from body shots.

Smith was making his third defense.

Alvarez previously held a title at this weight from 2011-2013. He lost his two titles to Floyd Mayweather, eventually moving up to fight for, and win, a middleweight title. He vacated that title rather than unify it with Gennady Golovkin, then moved back down to challenge Smith.

Also on this card, Joseph Diaz Jr. of South El Monte stopped Andrew Cancio (17-4-2) of Blythe in the ninth round of their featherweight bout. Diaz (22-0, 13 KOs) is ranked as high as No. 3 by one organization.

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