Gennady Golovkin vs Ryota Murata highlights recap from the main event on Saturday night. Gennadiy Golovkin rocks Ryota Murata to unify middleweight titles, moves closer to third Canelo Alvarez fight. Gennadiy Golovkin is inching closer to a long-awaited trilogy fight with Canelo Alvarez.
One day after he turned 40, Golovkin captured a second middleweight title with a ninth-round stoppage of Ryota Murata on Saturday in Saitama, Japan, in an early candidate for Fight of the Year.
Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) buckled Murata with the first punch he threw in Round 9, a powerful right hand, before he floored the Japanese star with another right later in the round, prompting the corner to throw in the towel to stop the bout.
The victory not only added Murata's WBA title at 160 pounds to Golovkin's collection but more importantly ensured Golovkin will move toward a third fight with Alvarez, slated for Sept. 17.
Golovkin and Alvarez agreed to the fight, which will take place at 168 pounds for Alvarez's undisputed super middleweight championship, in February. But first, Golovkin needed to turn back Murata in a bout that was set for Dec. 29 but postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions in Japan.
With Murata (16-3, 13 KOs) out of the way, Alvarez, ESPN's No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer, must now defeat Dmitry Bivol on May 7 in a light heavyweight title challenge to finalize the third clash with Golovkin, a bout Alvarez said is personal.
"It is not personal for me," Golovkin told ESPN last month. "I moved on from those fights before I returned home. I do not dwell in the past. If fighting me again is 'personal' to him, why did it take him four years to decide to do it?"
Golovkin and Alvarez fought to a draw in September 2017 before Alvarez outpointed him one year later. It took Golovkin, ESPN's No. 2 middleweight, 16 months to return to the ring after his TKO victory over Kamil Szeremeta, and he was forced to withstand some early rocky moments against Murata. The Olympic gold medalist was able to walk Golovkin down and was particularly effective with his body attack over the first four rounds before Golovkin turned the tide in Round 5.
A vaunted, looping right hand sent Murata's mouthpiece flying in the fifth as Golovkin seemed to catch a second wind. Suddenly, he was the one controlling the action.
Golovkin began to push Murata back while he unloaded punishment on the Japanese star. The first punch Golovkin threw in Round 9 was the beginning of the end. Murata was on unsteady legs as he attempted to survive along the ropes while Golovkin feinted and let his hands go looking for the fight-ending shot.
The 36-year-old fighter was able to absorb the attack for a few moments before he landed a couple of punches on a seemingly exhausted Golovkin, who then dropped Murata with a
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_hdTMX0l6s