One of the most feared middleweight punchers of all time, Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin returns to the boxing ring against durable Japanese WBA middleweight champion Ryota Murata in Japan on April 9th.
IBF champion Golovkin just turned 40 years old and the former unified champion wants to celebrate his birthday with a bang and stopping Murata and capturing the WBA title in the process would be a great gift for the Kazakhstan fighter.
The only loss on Golovkin’s record is to Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez and should he get by Murata on Saturday night and Canelo wins his upcoming bout with Dmitry Bivol, the two will meet in a super-fight rubbermatch to settle the score once and for all.
Murata, 36, is a 2012 Olympic gold medalist who has two professional defeats and avenged both in rematches against Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam and Rob Brant.
This will be the toughest fight and opponent of Murata’s career and he will be extra motivated to be able to fight in front of his home country of Japan and especially against an elite opponent like Golovkin.
Murata knows he is the underdog heading into the fight but he has upset on his mind and is ready to spoil GGG’s big rubbermatch with Canelo and try to insert himself in the mix for a big money payday against the Mexican champion.
Even though GGG is 40 years old he feels fit and in good condition, however he will have to prove that he still has what it takes to compete and hasn’t lost a step or else the younger Murata will capitalize.
Golovkin will use his high pressure style and Murata will try to box and move, it will be a good match up and interesting to see who is able to implement their gameplan the best.
The event takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan and is broadcast on DAZN sports live streaming service.
Fight Card
Middleweight Championship – Gennadiy Golovkin vs Ryota Murata (IBF/WBA Titles)
Flyweight Championship – Junto Nakatani vs Ryota Yamauchi (WBO Title)
Lightweight – Shuichiro Yoshino vs Masayuki Ito
Watch Golovkin vs. Murata on April 9, 2022 at 5:00 a.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. GMT, Live Stream on DAZN, for more info visit www.dazn.com
