ALL things considered Abel Sanchez isn’t the worst man to have in your corner. The respected Mexican trainer, who will be ringside at the SSE Hydro on Saturday night with Ryan Martin of the USA as he attempts to derail the seemingly unstoppable Josh Taylor bandwagon, is bona fide boxing royalty. Having made multiple world champions during the 1990s, Sanchez is best known for his work with Gennady Golovkin, all based at the world-renowned gym which he constructed with his own hands at altitude at Big Bear Lake, California.
“We call it the Summit,” said Sanchez. “We’ve got some exceptional fighters up there who have been able to develop on the back of Golovkin.
"It’s really remote and secluded,” he added. “The roads are narrow and it’s difficult to get to. It’s a small town and that’s the way we like it. We have a captive audience up there.
“The fighters don’t go anywhere, they only stay and train and are completely dedicated. They love the seclusion. It’s only for fighters who can cope with the rigour of a 10-week training camp and we treat it like a military camp. The facilities are modest, we don’t want them to get too comfortable. There’s no chefs or maids, they cook for themselves and everything.
“Every morning we start with a run at 7am and train at different times during the day. Everyone lives together, watches fights together, there’s no public or outside influences. I don’t need to use the other fighters as motivation. They see it for themselves. They see the pictures on the walls up there. That inspires them, not just to replicate their achievements, but to make them proud they were part of the same family. Golovkin is a mentor to these kids, they see how hard he works and it pushed them even harder.
With a certain Tyson Fury up there right now, the first feather in Martin’s cap is persuading such an august trainer to work with him. While he was initially wowed by his athleticism and workrate in training, the main thing Sanchez has had to work on is cultivating a mean streak. “I don’t take every fighter,” said Sanchez. “At first I ask them to come up for four weeks and they pay to come up. After four weeks I know what kind of character they are. I don’t want to be dragging myself to work each day. If they give me what I want I can get the best out of them. I can mould them. But they need to want to work as hard as I do.
“When I first started working with Ryan I told him he reminded me of Terry Norris. He’s got all the qualities and the same kind of athleticism. The only difference is something I’ve been working on – making him meaner. As a coach you end up being a psychologist, a doctor, a preacher, pastor, everything. You need to put them in situations that require them to dig deep. We have a lot of great fighters in our gym and we push them to the limit. That’s when they find out about themselves. Ryan has a lot of talent and when he puts it all together Josh won’t be able to handle him.”
Sanchez likes Martin's chances of making it 23 fights unbeaten as he takes on Scotland’s big boxing hope in this World Boxing Super Series quarter final, both men ultimately bidding for the IBF and WBA titles as well as the Muhammad Ali trophy in the Super Lightweight class. It will also be the first time, other than a first round knock-out against Miguel Soto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2015, that he has fought outside the USA, but Sanchez trusts that his man will be able to shut a raucous home crowd out. "Once you get in the ring it’s easy to tune people out," says the wily Sanchez. "But it’s done by controlling the fight. Saturday night is a big night for him, not just for the Ali Trophy, but to step up to the next level.”
Martin, for once, insists there will be No More Mr Nice Guy on Saturday night. The 25-year-old, who had a tough upbringing in Cleveland, signed his first contract with rapper turned mogul Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson. "I don't wish I had a meaner streak,” he said. “It comes out in the ring. I enjoy life, I'm always happy and won't let anyone take that away from me. I've always been a smiley person.
"Life's never been easy for me. That's just the way I grew up. I work hard for everything I have and that's what made me what I am today. I take the view just to enjoy life because this isn't forever.
"Sometimes my opponents underestimate me because of the way I am. But fool them. They see me smiling and a nice guy but I'm in the sport for a reason and I'm 22-0 for a reason. When I hit the venue a switch is turned on then then when I get into the ring another switch turns. I hear ding - ding and it's no more Mr Nice Guy. When I started as a pro I signed with 50 Cent and everything's gone good so far. I've had some good times and he has taught me a lot of things. I haven't seen no bears out at Big Bear Lake but it's military-style training and that's one of the things I love - working my ass off."
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