Nearly two years have passed since the thrilling rematch between middleweights Canelo "Saul" Alvarez and Gennadiy "GGG" Golovkin, and the latter's former trainer still believes his fighter was robbed of two victories.
Abel Sanchez said GGG beat Canelo in both of their meetings — opposite of the scorecards — adding that he expects the same result if the two meet for a trilogy fight.
“In my opinion, (GGG) beat Canelo twice already," Sanchez told AB Boxing News. "So there’s no reason why he can’t beat him a third time."
The two first met in September 2017 for the unified WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, IBO, Ring magazine and lineal middleweight championship. Despite many claiming GGG did enough to earn the victory — Golovkin out-landed Alvarez in 10 of the 12 rounds according to CompuBox — the bout ended in a controversial split-decision draw. Judges Dave Moretti, Adalaide Byrd and Don Trella scored the fight 115–113 for Golovkin, 118–110 for Alvarez, and 114–114, respectively.
JABS: Was GGG robbed in first two Canelo fights?
The two fought again the following September, when Alvarez won a less-controversial majority decision to claim the WBA (Super), WBC, vacant The Ring, and lineal middleweight titles. CompuBox stats showed Golovkin landed 234 of 879 punches thrown (27 percent) to Alvarez's 202 of his 622 punches (33 percent). And while Golovkin out-landed Alvarez in eight rounds, Alvarez landed more power punches in nine.
GGG's two bouts against Alvarez remain the only two blemishes on an otherwise pristine record: 40-1-1 (35 KOs).
There has been plenty of speculation about a trilogy bout later this year, but the coronavirus pandemic has made it difficult to put a timeline on any fight, and GGG's current trainer, Johnathon Banks, recently said he expects Golovkin to have another fight before Alvarez.
Whenever GGG-Canelo does happen, you can be certain Sanchez will be watching to see if GGG can win his "third" fight against Alvarez.