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By Matt Lieberman: Promoter Eddie Hearn predicts a stoppage victory for Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin for his middleweight unification fight next month against Ryota Murata on April 9th on DAZN at the Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
This is a critical fight for Golovkin that he can’t afford to lose. With the Canelo Alvarez trilogy clash hanging in the balance, GGG is in a must-win situation against the heavy-handed Murata.
A loss for Golovkin will wreck his dreams of a third fight against Canelo, a fighter that GGG has waited four years to battle for the third time.
IBF middleweight champion Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) will be coming off a 16-month layoff when he faces WBA champion Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) in front of a packed Super Arena with 36,000 fans on April 9th.
Golovkin has grown accustomed to fighting in front of friendly fans, but he might be in for a shock on the night going up against Murata in Japan.
Hearn predicts Golovkin stops Murata
“I want to be involved in the biggest fights with Canelo Alvarez, and the plan is to finish his career with Matchroom,” said Eddie Hearn to Fighthype.
“As long as this is the same Golovkin, and I believe he is, I believe he’ll stop Murata. I want both guys [Canelo and Golovkin] to look great because it builds up to the biggest fight in boxing.
“The [Sergiy] Derevyanchenko fight was an incredible fight, but that was two years ago now. The [Kamil] Szeremeta fight wasn’t one that you could get too motivated for, and he [Golovkin] stopped him.
“But the proof will be in the pudding. If he’s not the same Gennadiy Golovkin, he’ll get beat in Japan, but I expect him to look really good in that fight.
“I think the Canelo fight is a very different type of fight now, Canelo-GGG because both guys will be going out to stop the other guy. Canelo, the only thing he wants to do is knock him out.
“He doesn’t want to win on points, and Gennadiy will think, ‘I have to stop this guy.’ It’ll be a complete shootout, that fight, and it’ll be over within nine rounds. I think they’ll say, ‘We’re going to go for it, we’re just going to go for it,’ and I think you’ll get a thriller,” said Hearn.
GGG training for Murata
Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) turns 40 in April, but physically he resembles a 30-year-old, according to GGG Promotions promoter Tom Loeffler.
He’s going to be in peak condition when he enters the ring to face Murata in front of his fans in Saitama, Japan, next month on April 9th at the Super Arena.
For Golovkin to beat a fighter with the power and size of Murata, he’s got to come forward and take the fight to him because this isn’t the type of fighter he can beat by boxing.
In Golovkin’s fights with Canelo and Sergiy Derevyanchenko, he made the mistake of fighting passively, trying to beat them by boxing from the outside during vast stretches of the battles.
That approach made Golovkin’s job a lot harder than it should have been. If Golovkin fights that way against the well-experienced 2012 Olympic gold medalist Murata, he could be heading into his second career defeat.
If Golovkin loses to Murata, his chance of meeting Canelo for the third time will be finished permanently.
“I can confirm that GGG is in camp. I speak to Johnathon Banks on a regular basis,” said Tom Loeffler to the DAZN Boxing Show. “He said everything that I’ve heard, and when I was with him, he looks tremendous.
“GGG will be 40 in April, but the way he looks, he looks like a 30-year-old. His muscular structure, his training, his physique, everything like that. He’s definitely in training camp getting ready.
“Nothing is official. I know there’s been some speculation as far as the Canelo fight or the Murata fight. The official announcement hasn’t come yet from the Japanese side, but it’s definitely going in that direction. That’s why he’s training.
“As far as the Canelo situation, there’s a lot of history there. If the trilogy happens in September, it’s still going to be a great fight.
“The fans are going to be in for a good show, but in order for that to happen, Canelo has to beat Bivol, and GGG has to defeat Murata. It doesn’t make sense to talk about a Canelo fight or behind the scenes.
“It would be pretty much the biggest fight this year if it does happen, but I don’t really want to speculate on it,” Loeffler said of the Canelo vs. Golovkin III match.
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