'GGG' trainer says with UFC's rise, boxing must get more exciting

(This story first appeared at USAToday.com.)

LAS VEGAS – Gennady Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez believes that his fighter and opponent Saul “Canelo” Alvarez need to put on a thrilling contest this Saturday to prevent more fans from leaving the sport and turning towards MMA.

The clash, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is one of the most anticipated of the year, an even matchup between two middleweights at the top of their game. However, Sanchez is adamant that the entertainment factor of the clash – and not just the outcome – is critical.

“We are in a different era,” Sanchez said on Wednesday. “I think that Floyd (Mayweather) and unfortunately some of the other guys with that kind of (low-action) style caused a lot of fans to go away from the sport, because of MMA. (Years ago) there was no MMA, no UFC, so there wasn’t an alternative.

“Today there is an alternative, and if we are not entertaining, we are not going to sell. We have to be entertaining, we have to make sure they remember this fight – and that they want to buy the next one.”

Mayweather’s type of risk-averse fighting is unlikely to be on display this weekend. Both Mexican star Alvarez (49-1-1) and Golovkin (37-0), known as “GGG,” like to move forward in search of a knockout.

Golovkin, from Kazakhstan, has won each of his 37 prior fights, 33 of them by KO. He bills himself as the “Big Drama Show,” promising an all-action style that has won him a legion of fans even in Alvarez’s homeland.

Sanchez initially feared that the staging of this card just three weeks after Mayweather fought Conor McGregor may hurt sales and pay-per-view interest.

“I think that the price – there is a lot of casual fans that would have bought this fight if they hadn’t spent $99 on a spectacle,” Sanchez added. “But it is a different month, the budget may still be there.

“We are past (Mayweather-McGregor) now. We are walking around town and everyone is talking about this. Maybe it will hurt us but it won’t hurt us as much as everyone thinks.”