Gennadiy Golovkin on Ryota Murata: ‘It’s going to be a fun fight’

By Albert Craine - 04/07/2022 - Comments

Gennadiy Golovkin is expecting “a fun fight” this Saturday night, April 9th for his 160lb unification contest against Ryota Murata on DAZN.

Murata will have the ground behind him on Saturday night with the contest taking place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Golovkin didn’t need to fight Murata in Japan if he didn’t want to, but obviously, the money made it worthwhile for him to travel there for the contest to be the visiting fighter. Has Golovkin overlooked the importance of the crowd once again?

We in Golovkin’s two fights with Canelo Alvarez how important the crowd is when it comes to judging of the fights, as both of those matches took place in front of large predominately pro-Canelo fans at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The 2012 Olympic gold medalist Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) is a pure slugger with excellent punching power, and he’s expected to go right at Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) from the opening bell, trying to take him out.

Murata, 36, is expected to try and follow the blueprint created by Canelo Alvarez by backing Golovkin up with pressure and targeting his midsection.

Sergiy Derevyanchenko, a fighter not quite on Murata’s level, enjoyed great success by pressing Golovkin and attacking his body relentlessly in their fight in October 2019.

Where Canelo and Derevyanchenko went wrong against Golovkin is gassing out in the championship rounds, watching him come on to give both problems.

Murata isn’t a body puncher or an inside guy, so it remains to be seen whether he can duplicate the success that Canelo and Derevyanchenko enjoyed against Golovkin.

“He is an Olympic [gold medal] champion and current world champion for a reason,” said Golovkin to TheRingDigital about Ryota Murata. “It’s going to be a fun fight – a hard fight.

“It’s difficult to predict,” said Gennadiy about his fight against WBA 160-lb champion Murata on Saturday night. “Of course, both opponents will have their own strategy.

Gennadiy Golovkin on Ryota Murata: 'It's going to be a fun fight'

“I’m sure both of us will have several game plans based on how things are developing. I’m sure it’s going to be a hard fight, action-packed, and I’m certain it will be no easy walk,” said Golovkin.

It’s expected that Golovkin’s plan-A for the fight against Murata is to use his power game to try and wear him down and stop him.

That approach would coincide with what his former trainer Abel Sanchez wants to see from Golovkin, as he wants him to return to using his power and relentless pressure to win fights.

Since 2017, Golovkin has steered away from his attack-oriented style of fighting and become a boxer, which hasn’t suited him nearly as well as his former aggressive style.

“I’m fully cognizant of that fact, and I’m doing everything possible to be ready for the action,” said Golovkin.

“I trained 100%, as hard as possible to get ready for this fight,” Golovkin continued. “No cutting corners, I’m ready.

“I’ve already answered that question quite a few times and I’ll repeat myself. Let’s not talk about that right now,” said Golovkin when asked about a potential third fight with Canelo Alvarez in September.

“Let’s wait until the end of May when we have a better view of the obstacles that might come our way,” said Gennadiy on a trilogy fight with Canelo.

“Do I need the third fight [with Canelo]? No, I don’t need it. No matter which conditioned verb you use, there’s no ‘need.’ There’s no ‘must,’ there’s no ‘have to.’

“This is not the right approach. If there’s a fight, there’s a fight,” said Gennadiy about Saul Alvarez. “But without the pressure of needing it or taking part in it.

“No, I’m not looking at my career from the point of having to achieve anything,” said Golovkin. “I’m in great form, I continue to be active, and when I feel like it’s a good time to finish my career, I’ll finish it.

“Of course, a human being is a creature that quite often feels like it’s never enough. Many people feel that way. Journalists think they don’t ask enough questions, and they need more and more answers to their questions.

“I don’t have the feeling that it’s never enough. I’m ready to stop [retire] at any time when I feel it’s the right time,” Golovkin said about his career.

“Everything I already have satisfied me a great deal,” said Gennadiy.

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