Morales: Canelo Alvarez should fight Geady Golovkin at 160

Boxing features 17 divisions and none of them is at 155 pounds.

That was the message from Abel Sanchez following Geady Golovkin’s second-round destruction of Dominic Wade this past Saturday at the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood.

Sanchez trains Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs), the middleweight champion from Kazakhstan who has now knocked out his past 22 opponents. The dude is a beast. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, know it.

That’s why when it comes time to negotiate a possible title-unification bout between Golovkin and Alvarez, the sticking point likely will be that Golovkin must agree to meet Alvarez at a catchweight of 155 pounds, which is where fellow champion Alvarez likes his middleweight fights. The limit is 160.

This is not going to happen, Sanchez said after Golovkin pounded Wade.

“Why does he (Golovkin) want to give in to a diva, to somebody who’s trying to change boxing?” Sanchez told BoxingScene.com. “We have 17 divisions already — 155 pounds is not a division. It’s the principle of the thing.

“(Golovkin) won’t come down one ounce. It’s the 160-pound belt and that’s what he’s going to fight at. If (Alvarez) won’t, then he can leave the belt.”

Golovkin holds the WBA and IBF belts and Alvarez is the WBC champion. But Golovkin is the interim champion to Alvarez’s title. If Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) successfully defends his championship next Saturday against Amir Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) at T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas (on HBO pay-per-view) — at a catchweight of 155 — the WBC expects Alvarez and Golovkin to next fight one another.

The question is, will the WBC have the audacity to strip Alvarez if he refuses to fight Golovkin at 160? Or will that goveing body basically tell Golovkin that it’s his tough luck if he doesn’t agree to the catchweight?

We agree with Sanchez. If you are the middleweight champion, you should fight at the limit of 160. If Alvarez can’t do that, he should lose a pound and become champion again at junior middleweight, which is 154 pounds.

It’s time for De La Hoya and Alvarez to step up the plate. If they insist on the catchweight, it will make them look like they know they have no chance against the heavy-handed Golovkin. De La Hoya wouldn’t be the first promoter to do everything he can to keep his fighter champion as long as possible. That’s for sure.

Of course, Alvarez still has to beat Khan for Alvarez-Golovkin to remain in play. That should not be a problem.

Ortiz vs. Berto

It’s hard to believe it has been five years since Victor Ortiz took Andre Berto’s welterweight title via 12-round unanimous decision in Mashantucket, Co. It was a terrific bout, with both fighters tasting the canvas.

It’s a lot to ask for them to repeat the performance. But if their actions speak as loudly as their words when they square off in a rematch Saturday night at StubHub Center in Carson (5 p.m., Fox), the fans will get their money’s worth.

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“Hey, we’ve both had some nice wars, so I’m ready once again like I was the first time,” said Ortiz, of Ventura. “And, hey, we’re there to put it all on the line on Saturday night, so don’t miss out, man. Berto’s coming to kill me and I’m coming to kill Berto. That’s that.”

Ortiz (31-5-2, 24 KOs) took Berto’s title in what was Berto’s sixth defense. From the sound of it, Berto really wants revenge, even though there is no title on the line for this second go-round.

“I feel that this is still the monkey on my back that I need to go in there and handle it,” said Berto (30-4, 23 KOs), of Winter Haven, Fla. “I won’t say it’s more personal, but I’m taking it a lot more serious and so that’s a job that I need to try to complete and get done.”

ETC

There is another big card Saturday night. It will feature Badou Jack (20-1-1, 12 KOs) of Sweden defending his super middleweight title against former champion Lucian Bute (32-3, 25 KOs) of Romania at the Armory in Washington D.C. (on Showtime). ... Directly undeeath that, James DeGale (22-1, 14 KOs) of London will defend his super middleweight title against Rogelio “Porky” Medina (36-6, 30 KOs) of Mexico.