On April 9th, IBF middleweight kingpin Gennadiy Golovkin bids to become unified champion once again but faces a potential banana skin in two-time world champion and gold medallist Ryota Murata. The fight will be streamed live on DAZN starting at 5 am ET.
Despite appearing in tremendous condition and being under the tutelage of Jonathan Banks, the hardened Kazakh knockout artist edges ever closer to his fortieth birthday, sparking fans and pundits alike to reference the age-old adage, “father time is undefeated”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDwqsu0P770
Whilst there are exceptions (think Pacquiao-Thurman, Foreman-Moorer) most legends bow out of the sport with a devastating loss against a fighter that a decade prior would struggle to survive the first six rounds, let alone emerge victorious.
Whilst the Golovkin of even 5 years prior would likely have been expected to despatch of the Nara native with ease, a vulnerable performance against fringe contender Sergei Derevyanchenko in which Golovkin barely escaped with a razor-thin decision, as well as being plagued by nearly a year and a half of inactivity make for a far more intriguing matchup.
13 of Murata’s 16 victories have come by way of knockout ensuring both fighters have a staggering combined knockout percentage of 80%, Murata showed he possesses some serious punching power when he stopped skillful French middleweight campaigner Hassan N’Dam en route to claiming his first world title.
Whilst Murata has two blemishes on his record, he can boast that both defeats were avenged in immediate rematches, displaying his mental strength and determination.
These are qualities the 36-year-old will need in abundance should he have hope of fending off boxing’s most feared puncher. Despite enjoying the advantage in height by an inch and a half, the Japanese fighter is also suffering from a severe case of ring rust after being out of the ring for well over 2 years, as well as a vast admission in experience to Golovkin who the majority of boxing fans still expect to prevail in this unification bout.
Largely due to Murata lacking an impressive enough performance to warrant swaying the predictions of boxing bookmakers, he remains an outsider with odds clearly favoring Golovkin to come out victorious.
Whilst many look at Murata with over 2 years of inactivity as suffering from a huge hindrance, George Kambosos’s huge victory over Teofimo Lopez should serve as a warning to Golovkin that ring rust and numerous cancelations don’t necessarily weaken the underdog.
With Golovkin nearing the final chapter in his career, the prospect of fighting in enemy territory seems to have motivated the former p4p number one as he claims the fight will cement his place “in history” and describes the fight as “massive”.
Whether father time shall remain undefeated or if the last thing to go really is power remains to be seen as boxing fans eagerly anticipate an action-packed night on DAZN come April 9th.
