Golovkin and Canelo
Golovkin and Canelo celebrate after the 12th round of their boxing classic Getty

KEY POINTS

  • Saunders most recently outclassed David Lemieux in Canada to extend his run to 26-0.
  • Sanchez says "GGG" and Canelo are more proven middleweights.

Gennady Golovkin's coach Abel Sanchez believes WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders has some way to go before he can be called the best over "GGG" or Canelo Alvarez.

Saunders successfully defended his title against David Lemieux via unanimous decision on Sunday (17 December) to take his unbeaten record to 26-0.

"BJS" drew plaudits for his performance with many such as Tyson Fury calling for the likes of Golovkin or Canelo to face him next, while Saunders himself claimed he was the best middleweight in the world.

Sanchez admits that the Hertfordshire native is a good boxer but has urged the boxing world not to get carried away by his performance against Lemieux, who was finished by Golovkin back in October 2015.

"I think he is a good boxer," Sanchez said, as quoted on BadLeftHook. "But you have to look at a career and previous fights.

"Three fights ago he could not or should not be in the same ring with GGG, now he beats a punching bag [Lemieux] and someone with wishful thinking and a platform wants to anoint him the best ever. In GGG and Canelo, he is talking about two exceptional, proven middleweights, and not in just one fight."

"Saunders looked mediocre against Artur Akavov (in December 2016) and now he fights a guy with two left feet, on a Sunday stroll, of course he had ring generalship!"

Saunders has long wanted to unify the middleweight titles, having challenged WBC, IBF, WBA and IBO champion Golovkin to a title unification bout for "all the belts" following the Kazakh's controversial split-decision draw in September.

The Briton will mostly likely have to wait until a Canelo vs GGG rematch first and Sanchez claims he will only get his chance if his demands are reasonable.

"I am not saying he [Saunders] would not make for an interesting fight, maybe not the most appealing, not the most fan friendly jog-a-thon...and his demands will determine if he ever gets those elite fighter fights," he added.

Meanwhile, Saunders could feature on the same card as Golovkin and Canelo when they have their expected May rematch.

According to the London Evening Standard, promoter Frank Warren is trying to get the 28-year-old a spring date for his next fight, with an outside chance of him fighting in May.

The likely opponents would be either Daniel Jacobs or one of the undefeated Demetrius Andrade or Jermall Charlo.

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