Gennady Golovkin reveals Johnathon Banks as his new trainer
Gennady Golovkin revealed his new trainer, Johnathon Banks, Saturday hours before Canelo Alvarez, the man he hopes to meet for the third time in September, battles Daniel Jacobs in a title fight in Las Vegas.
Former long-reigning middleweight champion Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 knockouts) parted with longtime Big Bear-based trainer Abel Sanchez last month following a run that included 23 consecutive knockouts and 20 straight title fights without a loss.
That all ended in September, when Alvarez edged Golovkin by majority decision.
While Golovkin said he appreciated all of Sanchez’s effort in helping the Kazakhstan product develop into a top pound-for-pound boxer, Sanchez countered by saying the split was based on greed after Golovkin signed a six-fight deal with the streaming service DAZN that is expected to provide him more than $100 million.
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Golovkin makes his DAZN debut June 8 fighting obscure Canadian Steve Rolls at Madison Square Garden.
In Banks, Golovkin aligns with a trainer who fought under the legendary Emanuel Steward and has trained heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and women’s unified welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus. Golovkin said he has been training with Banks for the past two weeks in Big Bear.
“It’s an honor to work with the best middleweight in the world, Triple-G,” Banks said. “I see the hunger. I see the passion.”
Twitter: @latimespugmire
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