Eddie Hearn predicts Gennadiy Golovkin stops Ryota Murata

By Boxing News - 04/06/2022 - Comments

By Jack Tiernan: Eddie Hearn thinks Gennadiy Golovkin may start slowly against Ryota Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) before coming on to stop the WBA middleweight champion this Saturday night on April 9th on DAZN.

The ring rust is something Hearn has some concerns about with IBF middleweight champion Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) because he hasn’t fought since December 2020. Murata and Golovkin will be fighting at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

There’s a lot for Hearn to worry about because of the mega-fight that is potentially there for Golovkin against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in September.

Hearn wants to see Golovkin and Canelo meet for their trilogy bout because he believes it’s the biggest fight in boxing. It’s not just Golovkin that has a tremendous amount of pressure on his shoulders.

Canelo has a lot more pressure on him because he’s taking on a talented fighter in WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7th. Some boxing fans believe Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) is the best fighter in the 175-lb division.

“Two massive banana skins, Murata and Dmitry Bivol,” said Eddie Hearn to DAZN Boxing Show about the dangers Ryota Murata presents to Gennadiy Golovkin and Dmitry Bivol poses for Canelo Alvarez.

“I look at it, everyone is looking towards September, Canelo against GGG. These fights are both losable fights and it all starts with Gennadiy Golovkin this weekend,” said Hearn.

After all this time since the last Canelo vs. Golovkin fight in 2018. it’s too bad their trilogy match hinges on both fighters winning their interim contests against risky opponents.

The chances of at least one of them losing are high, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Canelo and Golovkin get beaten. Canelo is a flat-footed plodder type of fighter, who walks his opponents down behind a high guard.

Bivol is too mobile to lose to a fighter with Canelo’s style of fighting, but you never know. Canelo can win a decision potentially by impressing the judges with his aggression. Bivol won’t win if he doesn’t throw power shots, and if he does that, Canelo will counter him.

Image: Eddie Hearn predicts Gennadiy Golovkin stops Ryota Murata

“He looks great, he always lives the life,” said Hearn about Golovkin. “Yeah, he’s a couple of years older than he’d ideally be in this situation, but I don’t think that’s going to affect him.

“When you look at the tough fights that GGG has had, the two Canelo fights, the Derevyanchenko fight, show me other brutal fights that he’s had in his career. Not really,” said Hearn.

Golovkin did have a brutal fight earlier in his career against Kassim Ouma, which was just as punishing for him as his fights against Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Canelo.

Golovkin was a lot younger when he fought Ouma, but he still took a lot of punishment.

“So, I don’t worry that he’s a faded fighter. Father time will take that away from you, but I don’t expect to see a tired or shot Gennadiy Golovkin,” said Hearn. “I expect to see a dangerous Gennadiy Golovkin.

“I just feel that when a fighter has been so inactive when the first bell goes sometimes, Gennadiy starts kind of slow sometimes and you could find yourself in a situation where you’re three, four, five times down. Everyone is looking at this, ‘Wow, Murata is looking good here. Gennadiy started slow,'” said Hearn.

It would be a REALLY bad idea for Golovkin to fall behind Murata on Saturday because he has a much higher work rate. Golovkin might not be able to get back into the fight to win a decision.

“I do expect Gennadiy to cut the ring off and get a hold of Murata and ultimately stop him as well,” said Hearn. “I want to go into Cinco de Mayo with Gennadiy Golovkin there, knowing that if Canelo Alvarez gets through Dmitry Bivol, maybe we get them in the ring after and we can start building towards the mega-fight.

“But as I said, the Dmitry Bivol fight, but the assignment for Gennadiy Golovkin maybe be a tougher opponent.

“I’m talking about getting in the plane, flying to Japan, getting into the stadium full of Murata’s people, the inactivity.

“It’s a really interesting couple of fights, and I’m really looking forward to Gennadiy Golovkin this weekend on DAZN,” said Hearn.

If everything goes right, Golovkin and Canelo will meet on September 17th on DAZN in a massive fight that should bring in a lot of PPV buys and new subscribers.

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