Is Canelo Alvarez – Ryota Murata a Done Deal?
On January 23, 3KingsBoxing reported serious negotiations were taking place for a fight between WBA “Super” World Middleweight champion “Canelo” Alvarez (53-1, 36 KOs) and WBA “Regular” World champion Ryota Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) for May 2020. The interesting caveat was that the bout would take place in Japan.
Here’s an update on the negotiations. According to Yahoo Japan and the Weekly Shincho, Alvarez and Murata have agreed to terms for a fight on May 24 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Quoting a Murata camp official, Alvarez was not their first option. However, as the process went along they found Team Canelo very accommodating and a deal was eventually struck.
“In the beginning, Canelo was set too high. So, it was initially planned to compete with the current IBF world middleweight champion Golovkin. The date and time during the day is May 24 on Sunday. In the United States, the fight will be broadcast live in prime time. It will probably be the largest-ever box office revenue as a Japanese boxer”.~ Team Murata (loose translation)
QUESTIONS NEEDING ANSWERS
The Saitama Super Arena is a familiar venue for Japanese boxing fans and has a capacity of 37,000 seats. Also, it was the venue for the WBSS Bantamweight finals between Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire, which was the Fight of the Year for 2019 to many observers.
Its possible the Alvarez – Murata fight is a done deal. However, there are still question surrounding the bout. Most notably, whether the bout will take place at either middleweight or super middleweight. Of note, Alvarez is the WBA “Regular” World titleholder at super middleweight.
An announcement is likely coming in early February. Of course, stay tuned to 3KingsBoxing for all updates on this developing situation.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
