GGG stops Murata to become middleweight unified champion

Gennadiy "GGG" Golovkin is now the IBF and WBA world middleweight champion following a technical knockout over Ryota Murata on Saturday at the Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Golovkin looked his 40 years of age in the early going as his speed and footwork have seemingly diminished throughout the years. The slow start allowed the Japanese former champion to close the distance and hit him with clean shots.

Golovkin showed patience and leaned on his experience before he finally unleashed his bombs on Murata in round three. Murata fired back which saw Golovkin take a step back from the brawl he initiated.

The next several rounds saw the Kazakh going forward, peppering Murata with power punches to the head and body. The punishment eventually took a toll on the Japanese as he got punished to submission with a big right hand at the 2:11 mark of round 9.

The stoppage improved Golovkin's record to 42-1-1 with 27 knockouts while Murata dropped to 16-3 with 13 knockouts.

—MGP, GMA News