Gennady Golovkin wants to face Miguel Cotto in a world middleweight title unification bout next year.
Abel Sanchez, Gennady Golovkin's trainer, took a swipe at Miguel Cotto, saying that the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion should face his fighter instead of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
Cotto, who won the WBC middleweight title with an impressive victory against Sergio Martinez in June, is reportedly on the verge of finalizing a showdown with Alvarez.
Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya, who promotes Canelo's fights, recently said that he is planning to sit down with Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum to finalize the Cotto-Alvarez fight that will likely happen in May next year.
Sanchez said that if the Puerto Rican declines to fight Golovkin, who is the reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Organization (IBO) middleweight champion, Cotto should just relinquish his world title.
"I think Canelo versus Cotto is a good fight," Sanchez said, Fightsaga reported. "But if you call yourself the lineal Middleweight Champion, you're expected to defend that title against the best fighters in the division. If not, then you should relinquish that distinction, especially if you want to compete as a Junior Middleweight."
Cotto's camp and other big-name fighters previously declined to face Golovkin, citing his lack of pay-per-view potential, but Sanchez reiterated that the situation has changed after "Triple G" scored a second-round knockout win against Marco Antonio Rubio last month.
Sanchez said that top fighters cannot use the same excuse anymore, especially after Golovkin's fight against Rubio sold out the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
And if Cotto and top middleweight fighters like Alvarez continue to dodge Golovkin, Sanchez said that they will consider moving up to the super middleweight division where they could face Carl Froch, James DeGale and even Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
"As long as Gennady stays busy, we're happy," Sanchez added. "But we're looking for any potential PPV match-up against any of the big names in the sport. We would even be willing to compete at 168 pounds to fight Chavez Jr., Carl Froch, even DeGale I think those match-ups would be big events and entertaining fights."
Golovkin, who holds an impressive 31-0 record with 28 knockout wins, will defend his world titles against Martin Murray on Feb. 21 in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
