Gennadiy Golovkin’s middleweight title unification bout against Ryota Murata has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 9 in the latter’s home country of Japan.
The contest is officially back on having originally been set for December 29 before being postponed as a result of the Omicron outbreak.
Golovkin will put his IBF and IBO world title belts on the line against two-time WBA middleweight champion Murata, knowing a potential third meeting with Canelo Alvarez awaits should be come out on top.
The fight is due to take place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama.
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“I am glad that the date has finally been set. I would like to express my gratitude to the organisers from Japan for their hard work and full support of the upcoming unification fight,” said Golovkin.
“Ryōta Murata is an outstanding champion. I believe that boxing fans from this beautiful country and around the world will see an exciting event. I look forward to getting back in the ring and bringing the Big Drama Show to Japan.”
Golovkin has not fought since December 2020 when he stopped Kamil Szeremeta with an emphatic performance including four knockdowns.
Prior to that he beat Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Steve Rolls on the back of suffering the first loss of his professional career to Alvarez in September 2018.
Murata himself has been out of the ring since December 2019, at which time he retained he belt with a stoppage victory against Canada’s Steven Butler.
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“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.
“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.