There was a bitter look of disappointment etched onto the face of Abel Sanchez. For approximately a decade, the world-renowned trainer had done his best to mold Gennadiy Golovkin into one of boxing’s most feared punchers.

Although the pair split suddenly in 2018, Sanchez holds no ill-will towards his former star pupil. In fact, Sanchez admits that he was glued to his television screen this past weekend, as Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs) made the move eight pounds north to battle it out against Canelo Alvarez in the third and presumably final installment to their long-standing rivalry.

In spite of Sanchez’s public support, Golovkin fought listlessly on the night, before losing a shockingly close but clear unanimous decision. Despite his bemusing and uninspiring performance, and regardless of turning 40 years of age just a few months ago, Golovkin revealed that retirement is the furthest thing from his mind.

Amongst a long list of options for his next appearance, Jermall Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs), the WBC middleweight belt holder, has craved a showdown against the former Olympic silver medalist. Though a win over the pugnacious power-puncher would allow Golovkin to hold firm to three of the four major middleweight titles, Sanchez is of the belief that Charlo, and Demetrius Andrade for that matter, are somewhat undeserving.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t want to see him fight Charlo,” said Sanchez recently to Fight Hub TV. “I don’t think Charlo has fought enough to warrant stepping over the guys that are busy. There’s a lot of guys underneath Charlo that are busy, that are fighting maybe even twice a year that should get an opportunity because they're active. Charlo and Andrade are just sitting around waiting for a big payday. That’s not correct, I don't think that’s right.”

Charlo, 32, has spent roughly the past three years of his career sitting idly on the sidelines. After nabbing back-to-back victories in 2019 against Dennis Hogan and Brandon Adams, Charlo has fought just once in both 2020 and 2021. So far, Charlo’s streak of inactivity has continued well into this year, as he's failed to fight at all while nursing a nagging back injury. Andrade, much like Charlo, has bellyached over the lack of big-name opponents willing to take him on in the ring.

Most recently, Andrade (31-0, 19 KOs) threw up his hands in frustration, opting to ditch his WBO middleweight crown in lieu of facing mandatory challenger, Janibek Alimkhanuly. Now, the former multi-divisional champion will attempt to take on Zach Parker at 168-pounds, presumably for the WBO interim title.  

Sanchez, by all accounts, reveres Charlo and Andrade both in and outside of the ring. However, despite having high regard for their sublime skills, Sanchez would rather Golovkin face off against a more “deserving” opponent.

“You have to stay active in order to deserve or to warrant the organizations putting you in a spot to get a title. The guys that are below them that are busy should be the ones being rewarded with title opportunities.”