Gennadiy Golovkin’s career is in danger of ending with a bang rather than a bang. Can GGG return to whatever is at his best against Ryota Murata in the WBA Super and IBF middleweight title fights on Saturday? Luke G. Williams previews the action.
IBF middleweight champion this Saturday, Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) heads to the Super Arena in Saltama, Japan to face WBA ‘super’ fighter Ryota Murata ( 16-2, 13 KOs) in a 160lbs bout that would certainly tell us how much Kazakhstan was once feared but is now definitely decimated.
The past few years have been years to disappoint admirers of GGG, who just passed his 40th birthday. The dynamic boxer-fighter was once considered one of the greatest middleweight boxers of all time, but now threatens to become one of the sport’s ‘what if’ stories. .
Even taking into account the disruption caused by the pandemic, the fact that Golvkin – once one of the most active champions – has only fought once since 2019 is very disappointing. What’s more, he’s only had three contests since his second bout with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in 2018, beating the dominant Steve Rolls in four, life and death with Sergiy Derevyanchenko in a fight some think that the Ukrainian had won, and then looked tired of defeating Kamil Szeremeta hopelessly in his most recent match in December 2020. In contrast, Canelo fought seven times in the same span. time, with an eighth match scheduled for next month.
If GGG beats Murata, DAZN is hanging the carrot of a potential ‘triple fight’ against the Mexicans, although there are few sane judges in boxing that will give Golovkin a prayer of success in his first win over the current P4P king, has so far been disproved by over-judgment in one contest and later by Canelo’s masterful adaptation in another.
Although some sources claim that the former rivals have agreed a deal to fight on September 17 if both prevail in the next match (Canelo faces Dmitry Bivol on May 7). ), Golovkin made it clear that he was not looking past Murata. “It’s too early to talk about this,” he said, this week about the prospect of facing Canelo again. “I think the time will come and we will be happy to discuss that, but this is too soon. I think we should focus on the fight ahead.”
Golovkin certainly had to be careful with Murata’s pedigree. Although the 36-year-old’s professional career had a rough start, he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 2012 London Olympics, surpassing GGG’s silver medal record in matches at Athens 2004, and possesses many good basic stats, including a clear chin. , good impact and great power. Just over 6 feet tall and with a 75” range, he also possesses a physical advantage over Golovkin, who is about 5 feet 10” tall with a 70” reach.
Add to that the fact that Murata has a heart and will be fueled by enthusiasm – though seriously polite – support at home and plenty of ingredients for dealing with frustration seem to have paid off. available.
The man from Nara certainly seemed confident he was facing a waning Golovkin who said in the build-up to the fight: “I think he’s past his prime. How I present my strengths in the ring will be very important.”
Had Murata himself been younger or more active – his last match was in December 2019 – his chances of winning would have been significantly higher. However, unless GGG is significantly paler than his fans fear he should have enough class left in the tank to prevail.
Murata isn’t the most elusive of targets, and GGG still has one of the best spearheads in the business and this could prove crucial.
Golovkin was on the point of choice, with Murata proving his bravery but not doing enough to guarantee glory.
