GGG speaks on split with Sanchez, new trainer Banks

Gennadiy Golovkin has a new trainer for his June 8 return.

Gennadiy Golovkin will have a new trainer for his June 8 return to the ring at Madison Square Garden, streaming live on DAZN, and GGG’s name has been big in the news recently following his split with longtime trainer Abel Sanchez.

Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KO) put out a pretty standard statement about the move, then Sanchez responded by slamming Golovkin heavily, repeatedly, everywhere he could. Marcos Villegas caught up with Gennadiy in Las Vegas and asked about the split.

“Everything happened naturally,” Golovkin said through a translator. “The last few weeks before it happened, we were talking about different things, and eventually we came to a decision.”

Golovkin, 37, says they “had been talking about it for quite a while,” and that he’ll leave the rest of the story up to the public to decide for themselves.

“I’ve told my side of the story,” he said. “Abel said a lot of things in various venues, and I saw some of it, some of it was sent to me by my fans. But what I said is my opinion of what happened, it’s pretty clear.”

Johnathon Banks is the new man leading Golovkin’s training camp. The Michigan ex-fighter has been in the spotlight as a trainer before, working with Wladimir Klitschko after the passing of Banks’ mentor Emanuel Steward in 2012, and also training undisputed welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus.

GGG says Banks will be able to add to his approach from here on.

“He’s not going to change many things, he would add certain things,” Golovkin said. “I have my own style, and he will be able to add certain things to my style.”

Golovkin faces massive underdog Steve Rolls in his next fight on June 8.