Skip to content
Home » Gennadiy Golovkin aims for unification glory approaching forty in Japan

Gennadiy Golovkin aims for unification glory approaching forty in Japan

  • by
  • 3 min read

Gennadiy Golovkin aims for another unification just four months shy from his fortieth birthday as the legend fights on after a long delay.

“GGG” (41-1-1, 36 KOs), from Karaganda, Kazakhstan, boxing’s most dominant middleweight of his era, brings the Big Drama Show and his IBF and IBO world title belts to his opponent’s backyard, Japan.

He will rumble with two-time WBA middleweight kingpin Ryōta Murata (16-2, 13 KOs).

It’s a long-awaited title unification fight. It is promoted by Teiken Promotions Inc., in association with GGG Promotions.

Golovkin vs. Murata takes place Wednesday, December 29, and will be streamed live from Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, which border’s Murata’s hometown of Tokyo, to over 200 countries and territories.

They include the U.S., exclusively on DAZN (excluding Japan and Kazakhstan).

In a battle of two-time world champions and Olympic medalists, Golovkin and Murata will be looking to put their stamp on, arguably, boxing’s most storied weight class.

They boast a combined record of 57-3-1, 49 KOs — a winning percentage of over 93% — with 86% of their victories coming by knockout.

Golovkin vs Murata

GOLOVKIN

“I am excited to be bringing the Big Drama Show to Japan, a country where boxing is very popular,” said Golovkin.

“Ryōta Murata has been a great 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.”

“I feel that my real 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,” said Murata. “Gennadiy Golovkin has long been the standard-bearer of the middleweight division. To me, he is still undefeated. I have the highest respect for him.

“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. I am so proud Japan is hosting this fight. It is a great honor for me.”

“What a way to close out a fantastic 2021 of boxing, with one of the best to ever step in the ring Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin facing off against Ryōta Murata for the WBA, IBF, and IBO Middleweight World Titles,” said Ed Breeze, EVP Rights at DAZN.

“Ryōta Murata takes a big step up against the middleweight king GGG, who looks to continue his reign in the division after dismantling Szeremeta last time out. This is set to be a middleweight war, and we’re thrilled to have the fight live on DAZN on December 29.”

World Boxing News has had over one billion views since its inception in 2010. Follow on social media @worldboxingnews.