Grading the Big Drama Show (Golovkin's career under Abel Sánchez)

Has to be A+.

He came into the MW division like a tsunami, swept aside all opposition, fought everybody, collected all the belts save one. Not a single loss and a ridiculous KO %.

When you're looking for a comparable effort, even MW greats like Hopkins and Hagler dropped a few and had some stinkers. He's been nothing short of sensational, and the worst people can say about him is stuff like "He didn't KO Jacobs" and "Brook hit him with that one uppercut" and "Canelo had some good moments before Uncle Oscars judges came through for him even though he lost".

I guess a criticism could be that he never fought an ATG on the level of Leonard or Duran or RJJ (although Canelo might still go on to carve out an impressive legacy for himself) but he certainly TRIED to face everybody.

How much more could he really have accomplished?

 

I love Abel Sanchez. He is great value in interviews, always getting in sly digs at Canelo or whoever, making the anti-GGG brigade foam at the mouth "FABLE SANCHEZ" "DIRTY SANCHEZ" -

Plus I like how his posture suggests he is proud of his protruding taco cemetery belly. Oh and his twinkly eyed smug smiling mustachiod face. What a F legend that man is!



Gennady's ok too.

 

B

You are who you beat. An A+ MW would have blown Jacobs and Canelo away. Toyed with Brook. Fought Ward and Saunders. And would have fought in between the ridiculous gap between the two Canelo fights.

lol@ A or A+. Thats a grade for Mayweather and Paquaio type careers.

 

He had it cushy all his career , espicially under HBO. Never forced into a fight he didn't want to take. Never pushed to fight Ward.. It was Ward that was pushed to fight Kovalev so GGG could be protected.
Given PPV fights against Welters. Gets to avoid mandos to fight a 154 pounder who he can't even beat.

B minus.

 

A solid B from me.I don't share the same enthusiasm that @UnleashtheFURY does for more obvious reasons. But to me he gets that grade from me because he was supposed to knock out guys like Jacobs and Canelo yet he struggled and arguably lost both those fights, and those fights were the biggest fights of his career. Now had he lost both those fights, what would we be saying about him then? J/S

He fought WW Brook and got hit far too much and far too clean by a guy two weight classes smaller than he was. Now I don't deny his dominance in the division, but just look at the division at the height of his dominance.. It was weak, but with the division heating up again, There's still time for GGG to cement his legacy as one of the best to lace them up as a middleweight.

 

B+

Golovkin was a top amateur and always looked like he would make a top professional, I don't think Sanchez has had a lot to do really.

Golovkin isn't the type to be in clubs or out drinking and all that so the main objective is to make sure GG is in shape, fighting fit and sharp and Sanchez does that.

I believe almost any decent trainer would have done the same with Golovkin, I don't think they would have done any worse with Golovkin and I don't believe Golovkin would have done worse with another trainer.

My downside is when I watch Golovkin fight and they have a camera on the corner I get the impression Sanchez speaks and Golovkin still does what he wants to do or what he believes he should do even if the advice is correct/good.

When is the last time you saw Sanchez change the course of a Golovkin fight with his words? Or Golovkin follow instructions and change the fight?

Anyway, it works for them and you can't be overly harsh on their unbeaten run and achievements but I don't see a dynamic relationship, I don't see them bouncing off each other.

 

He gets a B- for me.

Until he clears up his iffy performances against Canelo and Jacobs and gets the Wbo from Saunders, he isnt even sniffing an A from me. They whined everyone was avoiding them now they finally get a chance to fight some skilled, young, elite lions who wont fold from one good hit. Make it happen and make history. Charlo, Andrade, etc would also be excellent icing on top.

I only give Abel so much credit since as the OP pointed out, Golovkin was a veteran amateur boxer with 300 fights. He was a naturally tough kid who got into street fights, won gold medals, and had crushing solud power and a granite chin. If he had developed Golovkins porous defense, his lack of head movement, lack of volume punching, not so great late round work rate, or some of his other glaring weaknesses id give Abel more props. But he still has many of those weaknesses even after nearly 20 pro title fights and being in his 30's so what exactly did Abel change?

If he fails to unify or beat canelo/jacobs convincingly, ill still give him a lot of credit since he is a little past his prime and its not his fault his moron promoters and managers failed to put his name out and get him the bigger fights.

No comment on the hilarious attempt to hype up the tomato cans and D level garbage he fought before finally stepping up.

 

Excellent post

 

You mean the same level of enthusiasm the majority of the thread including OP shared? I was pretty fair in my assessment, get over yourself you butthurt manchild.

 

What Abel & GGG did together is incredible. Lets see how many Kazakhs can make it into the US scene like GGG did. Or any Russian or EE.

The Mexican "thing" is AAA+ lol.
Kovalev should've done that too, or at least try

 

150K

Not very incredible