Team Murata Eyeing April Unification Fight Date With Gennady Golovkin
As reported by 3KingsBoxing, the middleweight unification contest between IBF champ Gennady Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) and WBA ‘super’ champ Ryota Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) was postponed. Scheduled to happen on December 29, 2021, and set to take place in Saitama, Japan, the postponement was due to a COVID-19 travel ban for international travelers by Japanese government officials. All parties were optimistic the contest would be rescheduled and take place in the first half of 2022. Here’s the update.
A press event was held at the Teiken Gym in Tokyo to celebrate the birthday of Murata, who turns 36. In attendance were the WBA champ and his co-promoter, Akihiko Honda. According to news outlet Asian Boxing, Honda disclosed that the plan is for the match to now happen in April. After taking time off for the holidays, Murata is back in training. As a part of this gathering with local media, he did some light sparring and worked the mitts.
FAR FROM A DONE DEAL
Despite Honda’s hopes, the Japanese government has the ultimate say-so. When it comes to boxing in the era of COVID-19, they have been at the forefront of handing down protocols and guidelines.
They suspended the sport for a good chunk of 2020 because of concerns over the virus. With the rise of the new Omicron variant domestically, look for Japan to take every precaution before giving the thumbs up for Golovkin-Murata, one of the biggest fights in the country this year. In short, nothing has been finalized, so stay tuned to 3KingsBoxing for further updates.
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By: Michael Wilson Jr.
