Gennadiy Golovkin once again proved that age is just a number with his most recent win. The day after his 40th birthday the Kazakhstani fighter defeated Ryota Murata via ninth round stoppage.
The bout, which took place in Saitama, Japan, saw the 2012 Olympic gold medallist test Golovkin’s chin early on, but the fight shifted drastically in GGG’s favour in the 5th round. The 40 year old landed a massive right hand which sent Murata’s mouthpiece flying, and it was all Golovkin from there.
By the time the 9th round came about, Murata was running on fumes. A strong right hand from Triple G in the opening moments saw the Japanese star’s knees buckle, but it would be another powerful blow moments later that would send him to the canvas. Murata’s corner quickly threw in the towel to give Golovkin his 42nd career victory.
Golovkin was the busier and more accurate of the two fighters landing 41% of his 629 punches (150 power shots landed) to Murata’s 24% of his 592 punches (122 power landed).
With the win Golovkin (42-1-1, 37KOs) added Murata’s 160lb WBA title to his collection. It also completes an important first step in setting up a trilogy bout between himself and Canelo Alvarez later this year.
The two pound for pound kings of the sport previously met in a September 2017 fight which was scored a draw. Golovkin and Alvarez then ran it back a year later which saw Mexican superstar outpoint Golovkin to earn the victory.
A third instalment in the GGG/Canelo saga has been highly anticipated for some time now, however COVID and other title defense commitments have kept the two at bay since 2018.
While both camps have already agreed to a September 17th fight, Golovkin first had to dispatch Murata before he could focus on the impending super fight. With one piece of business out of the way, Alvarez now has to hold up his end of the bargain and defeat Dmitry Bivol on May 7th in a light heavyweight title clash.
Photo: Box Azteca. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.