Gennadiy Golovkin and Ryota Murata will be meeting this Saturday night, April 9th for their two-belt middleweight unification fight at the Super Arena, in Saitama, Japan.
Watch GGG vs Murata LIVE on DAZN (click here)
This is the fight that will set Golovkin up for a mega-fight against Canelo Alvarez, who he still feels he beat twice.
“I indeed won both fights,” said Golovkin to Teddy Atlas’ podcast in reminding the viewers that he should have been given the win in both of his fights against Canelo.
Golovkin is predicting his fight with Murata will be one of the most interesting ones of the year, and he could be right.
Golovkin-Murata will be shown on DAZN this Saturday at 5:00 p.m. ET. Both of these fighters can punch with massive power, and it should be a real war as long as it lasts.
IBF middleweight champion Golovkin needs a win to put him in the slot to fight Canelo Alvarez on September 17th, and you can bet that he’s going to be feeling a lot of pressure on Saturday night.
WBA champion Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) has a lot less to lose than Golovkin, but obviously, he wants to win and continue being a huge star in Japan. Murata hasn’t fought in the last 2 1/2 years, and he’s likely to have some signs of ring rust with the long layoff.
In Murata’s case, he’s always been a power puncher that has never shown speed. He’s won his fights by overpowering his mostly obscure opposition in Japan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPMfZRUt8AY
When Murata has stepped up against Hassan N’Dam and Rob Brant, he was beaten. He did avenge the losses, but that’s not saying much.
Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) spent last year trying to get the fight made with Murata (16-2, 13 KOs), and it’s finally taking place a year and a half later. Hopefully, for Golovkin’s sake, it was worth the wait.
“We have two interesting styles to show, so it’s going to be hard to predict what is going to take place there, and I think it’s going to be an amazing fight for the fans,” said Gennadiy Golovkin to THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas about his fight against Ryota Murata this Saturday.
“For those that watch the fight or come to the Stadium, it will be a gift of boxing,” said Golovkin. “I think arguably it would probably be the most interesting fight for the year.Â
“I have to adjust to the time there [in Japan], and we are still figuring this out.
“I would like to emphasize that I indeed won both fights, I believe so,” said Golovkin about his two fights with Canelo Alvarez in 2017 and 2018. “At the same time, I understand that hypocrisy prevails from time to time.
“Unfortunately, there are people that would choose the hypocritical way, and we should also admit that there are certain rules of business.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlIz-UzT7Tk
“There should be reasons for those things to happen the way they happened and maybe accept that’s just one of the rules of the business,” said Golovkin in giving a cryptic response about his two fights against Canelo.
“I felt in the past that I wasn’t able to express certain nuances in my answers and some of my answers might have been regarded as awkward or downright funny.
“I believe that to be able to express myself in a deeper way to talk about various details to make myself understood.
“Abel Sanchez and Johnathon Banks, those are very different coaches with different visions and different approaches,” said Golovkin. “I can only say good words about both of them.
“I’m extremely grateful for what Abel gave me. I value all the input from Abel during my career. I’m now working with Johnathon Banks and I’m extremely grateful to him as well.
“I value him as a coach and you should not think that I abandoned all the knowledge and all the techniques that I learned in the past, no. Johnathon Banks gives me something to build on what I already have.
“It’s just the additional skills and additional approaches that take various situations from a different angle, and it all adds up. I’m very happy with the team I have right now.
“I learn a lot, I gain a lot, and you have to pick up what’s most important to you, valuable to you, and allows you to be better, This is the approach that I’m taking now,” said Golovkin.
