The fight was originally scheduled for December of 2021 before falling to COVID restrictions in Japan
Three months after COVID restrictions in Japan forced a postponement, we may finally have a new date for the middleweight unification between Gennadiy Golovkin vs Ryota Murata. ESPN’s Mike Coppinger reports the fight will happen in Saitama, Japan on April 9th.
IBF champion Golovkin (41-1, 36 KO) and WBA champion Murata (16-2, 13 KO) have been slated to unify their belts for quite a while now. If the reported April 9th date confirms, Golovkin will enter the ring at the age of 40 years and one day. He’ll fight for the first time in 16 months, having last been seen knocking out Kamil Szeremeta in December of 2020.
The 36 year old Murata has been out of the ring even longer than GGG. Murata last fought in December of 2019, stopping Steven Butler in five rounds.
Coppinger also says the fight will happen in prime time in Japan. For our American readers, that means you’ll get to see it sometime between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., depending on what time zone you call home.
Personally, I don’t care if Golovkin is 40 years old, and I don’t care if I have to wake up at sunrise to see him fight. I’ve already shared why I enjoy watching GGG do his thing, and I just hope nothing gets in the way of his return to the ring next month.
"I feel that my entire amateur and professional boxing career has been a preparation for this fight against Gennadiy Golovkin," said Murata. "This fight will determine my place in the middleweight division and boxing history.
"Gennadiy Golovkin has long been the standard-bearer of the middleweight division. To me, he is still undefeated. I have the highest respect for him. Murata vs Golovkin live fight
"It has been a long time since my last fight, because of the pandemic, but I have put that time to good use, working very hard with my trainers on improving my physical conditioning and adding more power to my punches. I am so proud Japan is hosting this fight. It is a great honor for me."
The two-time world champions and Olympic medalists enter with a combined record of 57-3-1, including 49 knockouts.
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