GENNADY GOLOVKIN nearly made a shocking UFC switch, and was so powerful that he left a heavyweight fighter stunned.
GGG was one of the greatest punchers in the sport at the peak of his dominance.
Gennady and Abel Sanchez, former coaches in 2017, Gennady Golovkin
He was eager to show his skills in MMA, and not just his boxing talent.
SunSport's Abel Sanchez, Golovkin’s ex-coach, said that he was "probably the strongest fighters I ever coached."
"I have seen him wrestle in the gym with heavyweights. He was actually doing some stuff with Malik Scott, who is now Deontay wilder's trainer.
"Malik couldn't believe Golovkin's strength. He is very physically strong.
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"In fact, I'll give it to you a note that no one has ever reported because the information was never made public but we once considered him fighting in a UFC bout with one of our biggest names back then.
"We reached out and discussed the possibility with some UFC coaches from Southern California. However, Golovkin Tom Loeffler's management decided to do something else.
"There was the thought of doing that. He would have done great, personally.
Conor McGregor was 33 years old and making great strides in UFC. Sanchez however claimed that he would not have been able to match GGG.
Get a PS10 Bonus with 100s of Games to Play and No Deposit RequiredHe stated that McGregor would have been nothing to Golovkin. This is the best we could find at that time.
"GSP was at the time the most prominent name. However, we didn't contact him or any other person and neither did we make up our minds who it would be.
"It would've been an interesting fight for Golovkin."
Sanchez, 39, led Golovkin to dominance at middleweight and in his fights against Canelo Alvarez (31).
The first was controversially ended in 2017 draw, before Canelo won in another classic.
GGG eventually dropped Sanchez and replaced him by Jonathan Banks, the former trainer for Wladimir Klitschko.
Golovkin, 36, returns to the ring Saturday for a Japanese middleweight unification against Ryota Murata.
Sanchez predicted: "I believe Murata is an excellent fighter, but Golovkin's Golovkin."
Murata will have to do a lot of work with him at almost 40 years.
"The unfortunate part is that Golovkin's current style may lead him to take more punishment than necessary. But Golovkin will always be an enormous puncher.
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"He is very strong with his hands, and very mentally strong so it will be very difficult to overthrow him."
"I believe Golovkin either stops him in the fight late or makes a decision. Maybe 116-112 somewhere around that mark."
