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Andre Ward has had enough of Gennady Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez and his word war.
Perefectly Willing and Able
According to James Dubin, a lawyer speaking on Ward’s behalf, Andre Ward is “perfectly willing and able” to fight WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin. He said the statement was made at the request of Ward, who wanted to respond to the recent comments made by Abel Sanchez.
Sanchez was all over media recently, saying that his fighter has “surpassed Ward in marketability” following Ward’s inaction in the last two years after a shoulder surgery in early 2013 and the ongoing legal battle he has with his promoter Dan Goossen. Sanchez added that should a fight between Ward and Golovkin be discussed, Ward has also lost the upperhand in bargaining power.
Quality of Opposition
Dubin blasted Sanchez for talking “hot air” and said that Ward has proven himself against the best boxers in the world, winning the Super Six Middleweight Tournament of 2012. Dubin noted that Ward defeated Mikkel Kessler, Alan Green, Sakio Bika, Arthur Abraham and then Carl Froch en route to winning the tournament. Ward also knocked out then-Ring light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson in a 2012 bout fought at supper middleweight. Dubin called Golovkin’s quality of opposition “minor league” as compared to Ward’s “major league” foes.
Dubin also responded that it would be “total nonsense” to let the Golovkin camp dictate the terms of the negotiations because their fighter only has Matthew Macklin at best in his fight resume. He said that if Sanchez and the Golovkin camp are truly interested in making the fight with Ward, “they know what to do.” Ward, per Dublin’s statement to ring.com, would be “somewhat flexible to go down to make the fight (at 160 pounds)” but he also challenged Golovkin to move up and fight for the super middleweight title.
Not on Anybody’s Radar
Although the camp of Andre Ward is correct with the level of opposition that Gennady Golovkin has faced so far, the Kazakh power puncher cannot be faulted by himself. Golovkin has called out the big named boxers in the past and has gotten the clod shoulder. Sanchez is saying that these boxers are staying away from Golovkin because he is a dangerouse opponent because of his freakish knockout power. Golovkin has a 90% knockout rate in his unbeaten pro career.
Golovkin’s last bout was a third round TKO win over former 160 pound chmpion Daniel Geale last July 26 at the Madison Square Garden. The win was Golovkin’s second for the year and his 17th consecutive knockout victory. After the win, Golovkin called out Cotto, but the latter doesn’t look interested and is busy setting up a Cinco de Mayo showdown with Canelo Alvarez in 2015. Sanchez has also hinted an October fight for his boxer but with Golovkin not on anybody’s radar right now, they may be fighting another “low quality opponent”.
