Gennady Golovkin's Manager, Oleg Hermann, Criticises Billy Joe Saunders' Camp

WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders is “not serious” about a potential unification bout with Gennady Golovkin, according to the Kazakh’s manager, Oleg Hermann.

Golovkin holds the WBA Super, interim WBC and IBF middleweight belts, and according to Sky Sports, he has offered Saunders the chance to face him in a unification fight at Madison Square Garden.

However, as noted in the aforementioned piece, Hermann says he’s a bit miffed by the response he’s received from the 26-year-old:

"

We made an offer to fight in April. But frankly I can't take Saunders and his team serious and I don't believe the fight is going to happen.

Two weeks ago he said that he is 18 months away from the fight with Golovkin. Now he says that he's ready to fight right now but it's up to his management.

His promoter says that Saunders is on vacation for several weeks and they wait for him to be back. They just point at each other and are not able to give a concrete answer. How it is possible to take them serious?

"

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Saunders’ promoter, Frank Warren, has claimed in his column for BoxingScene.com that the Brit may not be ready for the bout yet but could be tempted by a lucrative offer.

“I know Billy Joe has intimated he may not be quite ready for this but money talks louder than anything in boxing and such are the sums involved it is one certainly worth considering,” says Warren. "He has some really tasty options out there and whatever happens we will come up with something really special.”

In the wake of his win against Andy Lee last month, which saw Saunders take the WBO strap, ESPN’s Dan Rafael admitted he’d be surprised to see Brit take on Golovkin so soon:

Saunders does possess the talent to go to the top of the sport, though. The bout with Lee was always going to be a major test of the youngster’s credentials, but he proved emphatically he has the style and substance required to be at the top for a long time yet.

Here’s a recap of Saunders’ last fight, when he knocked Lee down twice early on before controlling the rest of the bout with maturity that belies his years:

Golovkin is a force to be reckoned with, though. The 33-year-old has dominated the division as of late, making light work of Martin Murray, Willie Monroe Jr. and David Lemieux in 2015. Golovkin is renowned for his thunderous punching power, and in 34 professional fights, few have been able to handle his shots, with 31 of his 34 wins coming inside the distance.

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As is the case for Saunders, 2016 is likely to bring some exciting opportunities for the middleweight champion. After Saul “Canelo” Alvarez beat Miguel Cotto in late 2015, he's emerged as a possible opponent for Golovkin, but it seems as though the Kazakh’s camp may want to unify the belts before taking on the Mexican sensation.

The FightNights.com Twitter feed thinks that a Golovkin-Canelo fight is only going to go one way anyway:

As impressive as Saunders was against Lee, stepping into the ring with someone as refined and devastating as Golovkin can most likely wait. Of course, the chance to unify the belts will be an enticing opportunity for the Brit, but it’s tough to see how he’d get around the Kazakh’s jab, especially after Lee found Saunders quite easy to hit late on in his last fight.

Saunders has made exciting progress over the past 12 months, and given his stylish brand of fighting, there will be a temptation to thrust him into a possible superfight against Golovkin. More experience at the top level is required before he takes on that unenviable challenge, though.