BIG BEAR LAKE, California – It was one of the most successful fighter-trainer pairings of its generation but surprisingly closed sourly.

Together, former long-reigning middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and trainer Abel Sanchez formed a mutually empowering union that saw the Kazakhstan fighter embrace the “Mexican style” tenets of Sanchez’s teachings to become a household name in the U.S. by, at one point, posting 23 consecutive knockouts and proceeding to an eventful trilogy with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

The trilogy match – won widely by Alvarez – didn’t include Sanchez, who was fired by Golovkin, 42-2-1 (37 KOs), in a 2019 cost-cutting move that coincided with his descent.

In the interim, Sanchez retired briefly, returning only to take on elite-level fighters, including his recent connection with heavyweight Filip Hrgovic, who recently earned a decision over Joe Joyce.

Saturday night, in the main event of 360 Promotions’ UFC Fight Pass card at Commerce Casino in Southern California, Sanchez will also be cornering rising junior middleweight talent Sadriddin Akhmedov, 15-0 (13 KOs), against veteran Elias Espadas, 23-6 (16 KOs).

After training in Canada for three years, Akhmedov landed on the West Coast, where he crossed paths with Golovkin at Santa Monica’s Churchill Boxing Club.

There, Golovkin urged his countryman to seek out Sanchez.

“[Akhmedov] tells me Gennady suggested he come see me. … That makes me feel great,” Sanchez told BoxingScene on Tuesday. “Just because we had some issues with [Golovkin’s] advisors doesn’t take away from the fact he’s a great fighter and we had a great run. We made each other a lot of money, and we made each other a lot of history.”

While Golovkin developed his English and became a constant force displaying his “Big Drama Show” on HBO, Sanchez provided a confident voice, praising his fighter’s rare and dedicated methods that lifted them to a record run of middleweight title defenses and a pair of scintillating battles with Mexico’s Alvarez – a 2017 draw and 2018 majority decision loss.

“It makes me feel good that he recognizes I can help this kid,” Sanchez said. “I’m good. I’m happy.”

Perhaps it will lead to a healing reunion between Golovkin and Sanchez, as Akhmedov is promoted by Golovkin’s former promoter, Tom Loeffler.

“I would like that,” Sanchez said.

The promise of Akhmedov, preparing for his second bout under Sanchez, has encouraged the trainer to purchase and build a new gym down the street from the one where he trained Golovkin – a facility now owned by former junior middleweight titleholder Jaime Munguia, where Akhmedov trained Tuesday.

“He’s got a lot to learn still because he’s only got 15 fights,” Sanchez said. “We’re in the process of developing fight by fight. I’d like to develop him under the radar until we get a title shot. I know he won’t. I’ll get time to work with him and get him where he needs to be to fight at the elite level.”

Loeffler also has two other formidable 154lbs fighters in WBC top-ranked contender Serhii Bohachuk and top-five contender Callum Walsh.

“These club shows help with building – not enough promoters do that,” Sanchez said. “What I’m looking for is this kid to do the things we practice in the gym, and if Tom can have him fight every two months like Gennady did, I would love that.”

Loeffler said he’s eager to display “the next KO king trained by Abel Sanchez.

“Gennady showed Sadriddin some things in the ring, and it means a lot that he gave Sadriddin his blessing to work with me and Abel. It’s pretty much the same team we had with Gennady, including the managers.

“Any one of [my 154-pounders] can become world champions. Sadriddin has a wealth of amateur experience – and the power, too.”

Loeffler, who has worked closely with TKO boxing head and UFC CEO Dana White, said he expects all three of his 154lbs fighters to participate in the new promotion once it launches, likely next year.

Walsh is likely to return in June on Loeffler’s card at Chumash Casino, and Bohachuk will headline a May 17 card at Commerce Casino against Mykal Fox on a card that includes IBF No. 2-rated Omar Trinidad against Alexander Espinoza and WBO women’s junior bantamweight titleholder Mizuki Hiruta, 7-0 (2 KOs), versus Carla Merino of Argentina.

Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.