“This fight is not about standing back technically, ping ping ping. This will be crash, bang, wallop.
“It will be over quickly. Whoever the winner, it will be a war.
“This is a fight for Golovkin which will take the edge off him. It will put a bit more age on him.”
Unbeaten Saunders held the WBO middleweight championship when the other major divisional belts were Golovkin’s, but a fight to crown an undisputed champion never materialised.
Saunders, now the WBO super-middleweight champion, has since linked up with promoter Eddie Hearn and said at the time: “I’d fight Golovkin at whatever weight he wants. I could show people how easily I could beat him and out-box. I could do a better job than Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.”
Golovkin’s only career defeat came to Canelo last year, after a draw in their first fight.