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Mike CoppingerESPN
Ryota Murata is all that stands in the way of a third fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin. And now, there’s finally a date for the middleweight title unification between Golovkin and Murata.
They’ll meet April 9 at Saitama Arena in Saitama, Japan, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. GGG-Murata will take place on Saturday evening in Japan, which means an early Saturday morning DAZN stream in the U.S., perhaps around 7 a.m. ET, sources said.
The fight had been set for Dec. 29 at the same location but was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions in Japan that were introduced in December surrounding the omicron variant.
The rescheduled bout presents an opportunity for Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) to prove he’s still one of the sport’s elite just one day after he turns 40. An impressive performance by the future Hall of Famer would surely pique interest in a trilogy bout with Alvarez that is slated for Sept. 17.
Golovkin, a native of Kazakhstan based in Los Angeles, agreed to a deal for the Alvarez fight last week, a bout that would see GGG move up 8 pounds for a shot at Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight championship. Alvarez signed his multi-fight deal with DAZN last week, a pact that begins with a May 7 fight against Dmitry Bivol for the Russian’s 175-pound title.
If Golovkin and Alvarez win their upcoming bouts and emerge injury-free, one of the biggest fights that can be made in all of boxing will be set.
But first, Golovkin will have plenty of doubters to quiet when he meets Murata, an Olympic gold medalist from Tokyo. Golovkin, one of the most menacing punchers in the sport, last competed in December 2020 when he stopped fringe contender Kamil Szeremeta.
Before that, he struggled to a controversial decision over Sergiy Derevyanchenko in one of the best action fights of 2019. Amid the inactivity and an aging body, Murata should present a chance for Golovkin to show his form at this stage heading into a potential legacy-defining fight against Alvarez.
When they fought in 2017, Golovkin was held to a controversial draw. One year later, he dropped a narrow decision to the Mexican star. Golovkin is rated No. 2 by ESPN at 160 pounds.
Murata, ESPN’s No. 4 middleweight, will end an even longer layoff. His last fight was in December 2019, a fifth-round TKO of Steven Butler.
Despite his status as middleweight titleholder, Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) will be stepping up to the elite level for the first time in his career. The 36-year-old avenged both of his pro defeats via knockout after being outpointed by Hassan N’Dam and Rob Brant.