Golovkin headed to Japan for unification showdown with Murata

Reigning IBF and IBO world middleweight champion Gennadiy 'GGG' Golovkin will travel to Japan for his upcoming unification against WBA world middleweight champion Ryota Murata on December 29 at the Saitama Super Arena.

The 39-year-old Golovkin (41-1-1, 36KOs) is on a three-fight winning streak since he lost to pound-for-pound king Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez by majority decision in 2018. He last fought in December against Kamil Szeremeta where he won by way of seventh-round technical knockout.

Big Drama in Japan ??????GGG & Murata put their middleweight world titles on the line, Wednesday, December 29 on DAZN ??????#GGGMurata pic.twitter.com/UNr0QsCLrI

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 12, 2021

“I am really excited to be bringing the big drama show to Japan, a country where boxing is very popular. Ryota Murata has been an outstanding champion. It is going to be a special night when we meet in the ring to unify our titles. We are going to give the fans a great fight,” Golovkin said.

Murata, meanwhile, holds a professional record of 16-2 with 13 knockouts. The Japanese last saw action in December 2019 when he defeated Steven Butler via fifth-round technical knockout to defend his gold-plated strap.

Despite the long layoff, Murata vowed to be in top shape in what will be the biggest test in his career.

“I feel that my entire amateur and professional boxing career has been a preparation for this fight against Gennadiy Golovkin. This fight will determine my place in the middleweight division and boxing history,” Murata stated.

“It has been almost two years 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.”

—JMB, GMA News