NEW YORK – Herman Caicedo can’t comprehend why the odds are so wide on the Frank Sanchez-Carlos Negron fight Saturday night.

Negron’s trainer realizes his heavyweight has a couple of dubious defeats on his record (25-3, 20 KOs). But the 6-foot-6, 244½-pound Negron is better, Caicedo contends, than his first-round knockout loss to Brian Howard three years ago and a third-round, technical-knockout defeat to Epifanio Mendoza 11 years ago.

The Cuban-born Sanchez (20-0, 13 KOs) is listed by most sportsbooks as at least a 25-1 favorite to beat Negron, but Caicedo considers their skill levels comparable. The veteran trainer from Miami isn’t convinced, either, that Sanchez is a future world champion, as some experts have predicted.

In fact, Caicedo sees Sanchez-Negron as “a 50-50 fight” on the Deontay Wilder-Robert Helenius undercard at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

“I know Frank very well,” Caicedo told krikya360.com during an open workout Wednesday at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn. “He is a good fighter. I don’t know that he should be talked about as the next greatest, right? He struggled with Efe [Ajagba a year ago]. He’s gone the distance with a few guys. He runs. If that’s the new standard, you know, to not sit there and fight like a heavyweight, run like a lightweight, then maybe he is. I don’t see anything too, too special, where you’d be like, ‘Wow!’ It’s not like when you saw ‘King Kong’ [Luis Ortiz] emerge. ‘Oh, sh!t! That’s the guy I’ve gotta fight?’

“I don’t think anyone’s gonna run because they’ve gotta fight Frank Sanchez. His style is very, very difficult, and he’s very, very good at it. But I don’t necessarily think it’s a guy you say, ‘Hell, no’ to. And that’s how I feel. I’m being very honest. It’s a 50-50 fight, in my opinion. Two big guys, with very good skill. They both could punch. So, I get it – [Negron] has got some defeats against some sh!tty guys. And then a good guy in Dominic Breazeale. But I don’t necessarily think it shouldn’t be an even fight, in my opinion, watching what I’ve been watching and knowing Frank from his debut.”

Sanchez, 30, and Negron, 34, will meet in a 10-rounder two bouts before Wilder and Helenius square off in FOX Sports Pay-Per-View’s 12-round main event (9 p.m. ET; $74.99).

Negron has won five consecutive fights, four by knockout or technical knockout, since Howard (15-5, 12 KOs) knocked him out in the first round of an August 2019 bout at Barclays Center. Breazeale (20-3, 18 KOs) knocked out Negron in the ninth round of the bout before he lost to Howard, but Negron was beating Breazeale on one scorecard entering the ninth round in December 2018 at Barclays Center (77-75, 76-76, 74-78).

“The nights [Negron] hasn’t looked so great, it’s been a direct cause of his environment around him, as far as leading up to the fight,” said Caicedo, who also trains Ortiz. “Very quick notice for the fight against Dominic Breazeale. He was just in camp with us for three, four weeks, just coming from cruiserweight to heavyweight. He weighed [226] pounds for that fight. So, he’s a full-fledged heavyweight now at [244½] pounds. He’s had years to develop as a heavyweight now.

“King Kong Management has gotten behind a thousand percent for the past, you know, eight to 12 months. There’s no more worries. So, that’s cleared his head. He’s measured himself time and time again in the gym and bettered most of the guys in the gym. Him and Luis are the guys that are constantly back and forth. Skill-wise, he’s got plenty of it. There will be a surprise Saturday.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.