Gennady Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) scored an early victory in the ninth round over Ryota Murata (16-3, 13 KOs) in the main event of the evening in Saitama, Japan, thus unifying the IBF and WBA middleweight titles.
Murata performed well during the first five rounds, but starting from the sixth round, the 40-year-old GGG took over. In the eighth round, the fight took on a one-sided character, and in the ninth, Murata was on the floor and the representatives of his corner jumped into the ring with a towel.
At the end of this year, Golovkin may face Saul Alvarez for the third time if he defeats Dmitry Bivol on May 7 in Las Vegas.