By Huck Allen: Promoter Bob Arum believes Ryota Murata might pull off a giant upset on December twenty ninth by defeating Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin of their battle in Saitama, Japan.
A victory for WBA ‘Tremendous World’ middleweight champion Murata, 35, over the ageing IBF champion Golovkin would make him a two-belt unified champion at 160.
If the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Murata beats GGG, Arum want to match the Japanese star in opposition to Chris Eubank Jr. in his subsequent title protection.
Arum feels that the mix of residence nation benefit for Japan’s Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) and the superior age of the 39-year-old Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) could also be sufficient for him to win.
Moreover coping with age, IBF middleweight champion Golovkin hasn’t been lively, and he hasn’t fought a high quality fighter since his loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2018.
Some boxing followers consider that the loss to Canelo has taken away Golovkin’s ambition, leading to him on the lookout for straightforward opposition and now not going through the perfect at 160.
Middleweight champions Jermall Charlo and Demetrius Andrade have repeatedly referred to as out Golovkin. Nonetheless, as a substitute of going through them in receiving reward from the boxing world, GGG has taken these extra accessible choices: Steve Rolls, Sergiy Derevyanchenko, and Kamil Szeremeta.
In Golovkin’s final battle in December 2020, he regarded sluggish and nowhere close to the fighter he’d been two years earlier in defeating Kamil Szeremeta.
The mixture of inactivity, poor opposition, and his advancing age has seemingly eroded Golovkin’s boxing expertise. Golovkin’s energy was nonetheless there, however his pace and timing regarded off the mark.
“I believe that Ryota Murata, on residence floor, might pull off an upset [against Gennadiy Golovkin]. Through which case, I’d love nothing greater than for Murata to battle Eubank Jr,” mentioned Arum to Sky Sports.
“It will be a giant battle within the US, Japan, and the UK,” mentioned Arum of Murata, defending in opposition to Chris Eubank Jr.
“Golovkin, for all his nice success, is slipping as he will get older. So it’s a aggressive battle,” mentioned Arum of a match between Murata and Golovkin on December twenty ninth in Japan.
“We’re working very, very exhausting to place that battle collectively on the finish of the 12 months,” mentioned Arum of the Golovkin vs. Murata battle.
“If GGG is profitable, I’m certain that the Eubank Jr battle may be very enticing to him,” mentioned Arum.
Golovkin was in negotiations to battle Eubank Jr. for a battle in September 2016, however GGG confronted Kell Brook as a substitute after the talks stalled.
That was a missed alternative for Eubank Jr. as a result of Brook had quite a lot of success in opposition to Golovkin earlier than bowing out of the battle within the fifth spherical resulting from a watch damage.
Former IBO tremendous middleweight champion Eubank Jr. (31-2, 23 KOs) could possibly be combating subsequent in December in opposition to former middleweight world title challenger Liam ‘The Machine’ Williams (23-3-1, 18 KOs).
That may be the third battle in 2021 for the 32-year-old Eubank Jr., as he’s already crushed Wanik Awdijan in October and Marcus Morrison final April.
