Canelo Alvarez Labelled a 'Diva' by Gennady Golovkin's Coach, Abel Sanchez

Gennady Golovkin will refuse to drop down to a 155-pound catchweight to face "diva" Canelo Alvarez, according to the Kazakhstani fighter's trainer, Abel Sanchez. 

The Mexican fighter is currently the WBC middleweight champion and is mandated to take on interim title holder Golovkin if he successfully defends his belt against Amir Khan at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena on May 7.

Canelo will reportedly only take on WBA, IBF and IBO middleweight champion Golovkin at 155 pounds—the weight at which he has fought his last four bouts and at which he will take on Khan—but Sanchez said his charge will not drop down from the division limit of 160 pounds, per Radio Rahim of BoxingScene.com:

"Why does he want to give in to a diva, to somebody who's trying to change boxing?. We have 17 divisions already...155 pounds is not a division. It's the principle of the thing. [Golovkin] won't come down one ounce. It's the 160-pound belt and that's what he's going to fight at. If [Canelo] won't, then he can leave the belt."

Per Rahim, as the mandatory challenger for the WBC belt, Triple G has no obligation to agree to a catchweight, and if Canelo, 25, refuses to fight at the 160 limit, he will lose his belt automatically to the unbeaten 34-year-old.

Indeed, following the Khan fight—if he wins—Alvarez and his promoter, Golden Boy, have 15 days to decide if he will go up against Golovkin to unify the middleweight belts, per Boxing Junkie's Bob Velin.

Golovkin is one of the most feared fighters in the sport and extended his unbeaten record to 35 bouts on Saturday, beating American Dominic Wade with his 22nd consecutive knockout, per HBOboxing:

His devastating power is one of his key weapons, but Sanchez does not think he has ever hit anyone with his full force in a fight, per Rahim: 

"

I don't think he's ever hit somebody 100 per cent. I think he's hit someone 100 per cent in the gym, to the body, but I don't think in a fight we've been in a situation where he's hit someone 100 per cent. I think that's going to happen when someone really tests him and it goes into the later rounds...when he's got the distance and positioning to unload.

When he spars he doesn't really hit [his sparring partners] really hard. He takes care of them. He hits a lot of them to the body, to the arms. As you saw today, he hit Wade in the arm and knocked him down...with an arm shot.

"

Golovkin would perhaps have to unleash his full power were he to come up against Canelo, whose only defeat in 48 professional fights came against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Canelo claimed the WBC belt in his last fight against veteran Miguel Cotto and is a heavy favourite to successfully defend it against Englishman Khan given his size and power, per former three-time world champion Shane Mosley:

However, taking on Golovkin would be a huge challenge for Alvarez, especially if he is forced to move up from the catchweight at which he has had such success recently, a very likely scenario given Sanchez's latest comments.