By: Sean Crose
Gennady Golovkin’s fans will have to wait a little longer before their man returns to the ring. The middleweight boxer’s scheduled December 29 fight with fellow Japanese Ryoto Murata has been postponed due to the actions of the Japanese government regarding the Covid Omicran variant. To protect its citizens, Japan has issued a travel ban for a month, which means that Golovkin-Ryoto is on the ice for the time being. Furthermore, the December 31 flyweight unification match between Jerwin Ancajas and Kazuto Iok, also scheduled to take place in Japan, could also be affected by these developments.
“I am deeply disappointed that the war in Japan has been postponed but the health and safety of the public must always come first. I look forward to returning to the ring with Ryōta as soon as possible,” Golovkin posted on social media early Friday morning. Recent developments related to Covid will obviously not please Murata, as the man is about to engage in the biggest battle of his life in his homeland. However, there is information from ESPN that the reunification is expected to finally come down in 2022, as long as everything goes smoothly during this time of extreme uncertainty.
Golovkin 41-1-1, who is almost forty years old, has not fought in almost a year, since he stopped Kamil Szeremeta in the 7th round last December. In fact, the man has only fought three times since his controversial decisive loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2018. However, although he has been relatively quiet in recent years, Golovkin remains the a draw. After all, he was once thought to be the most feared and shunned man in the fighting game. Undoubtedly, fans are no doubt eagerly waiting to see if Golovkin’s talent will serve him long, which sometimes happens these days.
As for Morata, the Tokyo 16-2 player hasn’t fought since December 2019, when he stopped Steven Butler in the fifth round. Like IBF middleweight champion Golovkin, WBA champion athlete Morata will now simply have to wait it out for the time being. The scheduled match between the two men is supposed to be broadcast live on DAZN and it is likely that a rescheduled match will be broadcast by the same streaming service, as Golovkin has signed a contract a lucrative partnership with DAZN a few years ago. Along with Golovkin and Murata, Demetrius Andrade and Jermall Charlo, both unbeaten, also held major middleweight titles, increasing divisional dominance.
