Golovkin-Murata in Japan in April

On April 2 or 9, Saitama will host a unification fight for the WBA and IBF middleweight belts between Gennady Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) and Ryota Murata (16-2, 3 KOs). The fight was supposed to take place in December, but the event was postponed due to the closure of the borders by the Japanese authorities.

A few weeks ago, Murata's promoters submitted a request to the Japan Boxing Commission for permission to hold an event in the first month of the second quarter. Golovkin has started training camp and is due to arrive in Japan in mid-March for the entire team to go through quarantine.

GGG in his previous professional fight, in December 2020, defeated Kamil Sheremeta ahead of schedule. Murata last entered the ring in December 2019, when he beat Stephen Butler ahead of schedule.