By Joe Koizumi
Let’s get ready to rumble. WBA middleweight super champion Ryota Murata (16-2, 13 KOs), Japan, and IBF titleholder Gennady Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs), Kazakhstan, will collide for unification in Saitama, Japan, on December 29. It was announced on Friday by Teiken Promotions in a press conference with GGG’s Zoom appearance. Murata, Japan’s national hero and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, ambitiously said, “I wish to be victorious so that I will prove I’m the strongest in this division.” Golovkin said, “It’s my great pleasure to fight in Japan. I also have Asian blood. Murata is a good fighter with a strong heart. It’s great that a couple of champions square off to decide the best.”
The event at the Saitama Super Arena (the capacity of which is some 22,000) will be shown live through DAZN all over the world except in Japan and Kazakhstan. It is epoch-making, within the territory of Japan, that this sensational encounter will be watched through Amazon Prime Video without any telecast by network or cable television.
Murata and GGG once had an opportunity to engage in sparring sessions in US in July 2014, but each has shown great technical and physical developments since, and we are looking forward to watching their hot competition.
GGG by late knockout maybe in the 10th or 11th
I like both but when did these guys see a ring last time? Jokers really. Unification for the title of longest inactive belt?
GGG should go the Canelo route and unify his division. I mean he hasn’t got anything else going for him. He’s even had almost a year layoff and yet he’s a champion.
Great matchup but GGG is going to win it by late TKO..
It’s an excellent match up. I really don’t like how inactive Murata has been. I know 2020 was difficult for people to get fights but he’s also very inconsistent when he does fight. He was a completely different fighter between his first and second fights with Brant and the French dude ( Hakim? Hassim? I can’t remember his name right now but french senegolese) anyway Murata is hot and cold, inconsistent and inactive.
GGG is ancient hes the same fighter he’s always been but just a little bit “less” .he’s 40 his punches are a fraction slower, a fraction less power, a little less strength. It happens to all of us. He’s slowing down in the same way Hagler did. He’s not going to grow old over night but he’s gradually showing his age. The Jacobs and Devyrenchenko fights were way to close and he showed his age. Still highly skilled but not the force he once was. I thought He probably deserved the first Canelo fight but dont have heart ache over the draw but he was less effective in the second fight and that was a loss but could’ve been a draw.
If GGG doesn’t get Murata out of there in the first part of the fight its going to be very close down the stretch. Murata could finish much stronger than GGG and pull off the upset.
Because both have been out of action for so long its hard to know what kind of form we will see, especially with Murata. The conventional pick is GGG but I think Murata has a good chance at an upset. My pick is GGG MD12.
I don’t know what to expect in this fight. I think GGG at or near his best doesn’t have much trouble with Murata, but he surely isn’t that anymore at his age and he’s been off a year. Then there’s Murata who isn’t very young himself. He’ll be 36 two weeks after the fight, hasn’t fought at all in two years and even when he was younger, he was pretty inconsistent. I think I’m going with the more dependable of the two and picking Golovkin by late ko, but with the exception of an early stoppage by Murata, I don’t think I’d be surprised by any result in this fight.
GGG, after this move up to supermid and face your nemisis canelo in trilogy fight. M’kay, thanks.
This is gonna be such a difficult fight for both fighters but I see GGG winning at the end.
As usual, my wife is the designated driver because I celebrate November 10th/11th with utmost fun (including 1 “sick day”). I am now fully recovered (thank goodness).
Anyhow, in anticipation of a possible future fight between Canelo/GGG (at 168), my fellow boxing fans and I will watch GGG’s reflexes, pressure skills, punch resistance and offensive skills with great focus because we want to know if GGG should rest in the shade.
At 168, Canelo will TKO or KO GGG and/or all other 160 pounders with dangerous aspirations to fight Canelo. I only want to see Canelo fight D. Benavidez (DB) at 168. However, first thing first, DB must TKO or KO K. Davis.
thanks for your service!
I jus dont understand GGG. I get it, Murata is a tough enough opponent, but this is a fight that GGG is expected to win. Called out by Charlo AND Andrade! Better for the fans and im sure a bigger paycheck for him THAN Murata, but why is GGG not going for those fights? Does he not feel he can handle someone at that level anymore? Then why call out Canelo still? Oh yea.. PAYDAY. I forget lol
What people forget it how much the B fighter wants…..Murata probably agreed to $500k…..GGG probably got a guaranteed 2 million from his DAZN contract….there is only so much in the pie and Charlo and Andrade would not really increase the pie greatly over Murata….in addition to not bringing in enough fans Charlo and Andrade would demand same pay as GGG, which being they would not increase the pie would actually drop his pay…..so except for Andrade and Charlo fans the fight would make little sense. If they really wanted the GGG fight then accept B side money like Murata.
That’s kind of the saying…
B sides say they want to fight, but don’t accept the offer so the challenger must be afraid..
A sides offer the B side low money, so the A side must be afraid.
Unless GGG is shot to bits, then he dispatches of Murata in under 9.
good to see GGG in a big fight…
for this point in their careers I like this matchup. None of us like their recent inactivity.
from a wagering standpoint I am thinking it would be good to bet the over on rounds assuming it’s not set at 11 rounds or something.
All of the questions on GGG will be answered in this fight. Personally, I would have retired already. The decline has been too steep. At his peak, none of the current crop would have stood a chance. The first 2 noticable attributes to fade on Golovkin were his legs and his switch hitting.
We will see how his reaction time will be like and how much fire he has left in the belly. Murray’s cannot be slept on, especially at this stage. I’m picking GGG to win by corner stoppage, but I would not be shocked if he lost by UD(cleanly).
I think Golovkin is too laid back, Canelo bested him in both fights, never seen Murata fight. Reading background of long layoffs indicates a dull fight, full 12 rounds waltzing, split decision for GGG.