ennady Golovkin faces Ryota Murata on Saturday in a middleweight unification bout that could set the stage for an even bigger fight later in the year.
There has been so much talk of a potential trilogy fight against Canelo Alvarez in September, but both fighters have jobs to do before then.
That starts in Japan, where Golovkin defends his IBF and IBO belts against the WBA super champion Murata, a gold medalist at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Golovkin has not fought since December 2020, when he beat Kamil Szeremeta inside eight rounds, and that bout was his first for more than a year. Inactivity certainly does not help the cause of the man who turns 40 on Friday.
Just five of Golovkin’s 41 professional wins have come on points, while 13 of Murata’s 16 victories have been by stoppage. That would suggest it’s unlikely Saturday’s fight sees the final bell.
Murata fighter has home advantage on his side and the Kazakh fighter knows he cannot allow himself to give any thought to another boxing mega-fight against Canelo, which looks almost certain to take place should he win this weekend and the Mexican then beat Dmitry Bivol on May 7.
He said: “Murata’s the pride and star of his country. I know the organizers of this event. Everything will be top class, and I’m very excited to be part of this amazing event.
“He’s an Olympic champion and he’s the current world champion holding the WBA title.”
Golovkin vs Murata date, start time, venue and ring walks
Golovkin vs Murata takes place on Saturday April 9, 2022 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
The main televised undercard is due to begin at 11am BST, with ring walks for the main event expected at around 1.10pm.
As ever, those times are subject to change.
Golovkin vs Murata fight card/undercard in full
Gennady Golovkin vs Ryota Murata
Junto Nakatani vs Ryota Yamauchi
Shuichiro Yoshino vs Masayuki Ito
Kazuki Anaguchi vs Ryuji Yamamoto
Hiroka Amaki vs Taiga Kato
How to watch Golovkin vs Murata
Saturday’s event is being broadcast live via streaming service DAZN, with a monthly subscription currently costing £7.99 in the UK.
The service can be viewed on smart TVs in addition to other devices such as computers, mobiles, gaming consoles and tablets.
You can also follow all the action on fight night with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog.
Golovkin vs Murata fight prediction
How Golovkin, at the age of 40, can deal with 16 months out of ring looks set to be the defining factor in how this fight plays out.
Murata believes his opponent his past his best – his hopes on Saturday surely rely on that being true.
He said: “Whether GGG is unbeaten or not does not matter. I think he is past his prime.
“How I perform my strong points in the ring will be important.”
Golovkin has dealt with with spells out of the ring before and is too experienced to let talk of a trilogy fight with Canelo distract him from the task on hand.
It promises to be an exciting bout, with both fighters having plenty of knockout victories on their records. Murata has avenged the two defeats in his professional career, but this is a big step up and he could be stopped for the first time in his career.
Golovkin to win by stoppage, round 8.
Golovkin vs Murata weigh-in
The weigh-in for Saturday card takes place on Friday. Check back in then for the results!
Golovkin vs Murata betting odds
Golovkin win: 1/8
Murata win: 4/1
Draw: 33/1
Golovkin by decision/technical decision: 11/4
Golovkin by KO, TKO or DQ: 4/7
Murata by decision/technical decision: 15/2
Murata by KO, TKO or DQ: 10/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
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