Amidst plenty of talk from Canelo and his camp regarding possible catchweights for a fight against Golovkin, Sanchez says it’s too early to predict whether the winner of the November 21 clash will eventually battle ‘GGG’ for the unified middleweight belts.
As Golovkin now holds the IBF, WBA and IBO titles, Sanchez says the sole focus is on adding Cotto’s WBC championship to the collection, which doesn’t necessarily mean the 33 year-old has to fight either in the short term.
“Gennady’s objective has always been to win all the belts and become a unified middleweight champion,” Sanchez exclusively told World Boxing News.
“The fact of the matter is, it’s neither Cotto nor Canelo – it’s all about being WBC Champion. All the talk of weights is a moot point until November 21 and the outcome of the fight is decided.
“What we do know is GGG’s next fight will be for the WBC full belt. It has to be due to mandatory status and the WBC’s involvement, so no matter the opponent the WBC title is next.”
Asked who he believes will be the victor when Cotto defends his belt against Canelo in Las Vegas next month, Sanchez replied: “First I have to say that Canelo has tough challenge against Cotto. It’s a difficult fight for both, but the slight edge goes to youth.
“After that fight surely there will be discussions and negotiations about the next fights for GGG and Canelo / Cotto respectively and whether that actually means facing each other,” added Sanchez.
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman has expressed his confidence that Golovkin will meet either Cotto or Canelo next year despite the constant rumbles about possible catchweights.
Canelo has been quoted as saying any fight with Golovkin has to be fought at around 155lbs, whilst Golovkin is already big at 160 pound limit and may not want to drop down to hand any slight advantages to the Mexican.
Should Cotto be the one to come out on top in Nevada, a negotiation of a least a pound or two may be stipulated – which is more likely to be accepted by Golovkin’s camp and help seal the fight for mid-2016.
