Gennadiy Golovkin vs. Ryota Murata – LIVE results

By Boxing News - 04/09/2022 - Comments

By Mark Eisner: IBF middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) overcame a slow start to come on to wear down & stop WBA champion Ryota Murata (16-3, 13 KOs) in the ninth round on Saturday night at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

In the ninth round, Golovkin dropped Murata with a hard right hand to the head. Murata’s corner then threw in the towel while he was still down.

The beginning of the end for Murata came in the sixth round when Golovkin knocked his mouthpiece out with a looping right hand to the jaw.

From that point on, Murata’s body language was that of a defeated, hurt fighter and it was target practice for Golovkin.

The way the fight changed so suddenly was a surprise because Murata had looked so strong in the first five rounds with the way he was attacking GGG with body shots.

It looked almost like a repeat of Golovkin’s 2019 contest against Sergiy Derevyanchenko, with GGG getting outworked and nailed with repeatedly hard body shots.

Murata enjoyed success in the first five rounds with his focus on attacking Golovkin’s midsection.

You could tell from the way Golovkin gave ground after being hit with punches to the body tonight, that he did not like it.

  • WBO flyweight champion Junto Nakatani (23-0, 18 KOs) wore down and stopped an overmatched Ryota Yamauchi (8-2, 7 KOs) by an eighth-round technical knockout. Nakatani, 24, hurt Yamauchi in the eighth round and then flurried on him until the referee stepped in to halt the contest.
  • Lightweight fringe contender Shuichiro Yoshino (15-0, 11 KOs) defeated former WBO super featherweight champion Masayuki Ito (27-4-1, 15 KOs) by an eleventh round technical decision. Ito was hurt from a clash of heads, and couldn’t continue fighting. The scores were 106-103, 107-102, and 107-102. The former WBO 130-lb champion Ito has now lost three out of his last five fights since 2019.

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“Murata is a champion in Japan, he’s the WBA champion. He’s not going to allow and play the supporting actor to Gennadiy Golovkin,” said Ray Flores to Abrams Boxing.

“He’s not going to go, ‘Okay, here. Come to my home country, have one of the biggest events that Japanese boxing has ever seen, and just destroy me.’ No, he’s a power puncher, he’s a champion, he wants to defend his home country.

“He wants to prove that there’s a reason ‘why I’m a champion. There’s a reason why you all believe in me.’ I think this is going to be a firefight because Gennadiy Golovkin is in impeccable physical shape and has defined the fact that age is but a number.

“He has a potential third fight with Canelo Alvarez that he’s been longing for, craving for years. If he beats Murata and Canelo beats Bivol, which I do believe will happen, then they put themselves in line for a third fight.

“I think this is going to be a barnburner of a match. High contact, high volume, very physical and they are going to throw some heavy leather towards one another.

“From what I’ve been told is this is the biggest fight in Japanese boxing dating back to Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas. That was 32 years ago. It’s major. I was here for Inoue-Donaire, which was unbelievable.

“I was here for two Inoue fights, and he is a superstar out here. This is Gennadiy Golovkin, the ‘Big Drama Show’ in Japan against Murata, the Japanese champion. There are two world titles on the line.

“This is going to be a sensational fight. Who doesn’t want to wake up and have brunch and boxing in the United States? Enjoy some breakfast, enjoy some boxing because you’re not going to be disappointed in this fight.

Golovkin – Murata will be trading bombs

“I think the fans are going to win because this is going to be one of those fights where the fighters put it all on the line and they come forward. Golovkin is in tremendous physical shape, and Murata is clicking on all cylinders.

“This is one of those fights if you like high contact fights this is the fight for you. They’re not going to sit back and be patient, use a lot of shoulder rolls, the Philly shell, this and that.

“They’re going to come at each other toe-to-toe in the center of the ring, which man can handle the other man’s power? Who will be the last man standing after they dish it out? Who can absorb the most and who can dish out the most?

“This is a fantastic card. Teiken Promotions, Mr. Honda along with GGG Promotions, orchestrated this. The Saitama Super Arena is sold out. It will be electric inside the arena.

“I love the Japanese fight fans, they’re so respectful, and they’re passionate and they’re honorable. They come out to support every single fight on the card.

“Typically, you have a late-arriving crowd in the United States, and no shame on the U.S because that’s my home country. The Japanese fight fans come out from the beginning of the prelims because they want to see the entire show and the entire card, so credit to them.

“I can only imagine if there’s a knockdown or two. Keyword, a knockdown or two because I can see this going back and forth in a seesaw fight, which I do believe we will witness. History will be made when GGG fights Murata,” said Flores.

Gennadiy Golovkin and Ryota Murata will be meeting tonight in a middleweight unification fight tonight live on DAZN from the beautiful Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Gennady will have his IBF 160-lb title on the line whereas Murata will have his WBA belt at stake.