Golovkin's next fight: Billy Joe Saunders or Tureano Johnson is GGG's stepping stone to ‘superstardom,’ says trainer

Abel Sanchez, Gennady Golovkin’s trainer, believes his fighter is bound for stardom, whether the undefeated Kazakh faces WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders or Tureano Johnson.

“Either guy [Saunders and Johnson] it doesn’t matter to me. As long as they give me an opponent and we get to the gym and get ready for whomever it is,” Sanchez told Boxing Scene. “They are both great fighters and it is just another step on the road to superstardom for Golovkin.”

Golovkin could face either Saunders or Johnson in his return to the boxing ring, scheduled on April 23, at the Madison Square Garden. The IBF has given Golovkin’s camp until Jan. 19 to complete a deal for a possible bout with Saunders, or the organisation will have “GGG” defend his IBF title against Johnson.

Golovkin’s upcoming fight will be part of his voluntary title defence and preparation for his clash against WBC middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who is also bound for a title defence against an unknown opponent. Sanchez recently revealed that he plans to keep Golovkin busy this year and let him fight four times if possible. However, according to Dan Ambrose of Boxing News 24, Alvarez is also planning to be busy this year as Golden Boy Promotions is looking at having Canelo fight three times in 2016.

“WBC middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) reportedly plans on fighting three times in 2016,” Ambrose wrote. “It looks like Golden Boy Promotions wants to keep the 25-year-old money maker busy this year by having him pack in a lot of fights in a short period of time.”

Alvarez has already scheduled his next two bouts in May and September, with the latter date a possible fight with Golovkin. However, a third scheduled bout for this year could mean the Mexican champ is planning to square off against the Kazakh knockout artist later than September.