GENDY GOLOVKIN, Ryota Murata have announced their middleweight unification bout in Japan... on a rare WEDNESDAY fight evening.
Golovkin will be taking on Murata's WBA title in the IBF final on December 29th in Saitama.
Gennady Glovkin will face Ryota Murat on December 29
Japan has a long tradition of New Year's Eve events for martial arts in Japan, dating back to the 2000s.
Golovkin's Far East trip will end two days before the historic date on the fight calendar.
Murata's hometown is his destination for a Wednesday main-event. This is a rare opportunity in boxing.
GGG defeated Sergiy Derevyanchenko (36) to win the IBF title that was vacated by Canelo Alvarez (31), in an extremely close match.
In December 2020, he defended it against Kamil Zeremeta, 32. He has not been seen since.
Golovkin, 39 years old, stated that he was excited to bring the Big Drama Show to Japan. Japan is a country where boxing has a lot of popularity.
"Ryota has been an outstanding champion. It will be an unforgettable night as we meet in the Ring to Unify our Titles.
"We will give the fans a great battle."
Murata, 35 years old, holds a 16-2 record. He has been defeated only by Hassan N'Dam (37), and Rob Brant (31), but he won both rematches.
He was WBA's regular champion, and was later promoted to their full title. Canelo is now competing at super-middleweight.
After a draw, Golovkin lost to Alvarez in 2017. He was disappointed not to take home a win.
Murata sees the controversy as a setback, and he is determined to dethrone Kazakhstan's middleweight king.
He stated that he felt his entire professional and amateur boxing career was a preparation for the fight against Gennady Gorlovkin.
"This fight will decide my place in the middleweight category and boxing history.
"GennadyGolovkin has been the standard bearer in the middleweight division for a long time. He is unbeaten to my knowledge. He has my highest respect.
"It's been nearly two years since I last fought, due to the pandemic. However, I have made good use of that time, working with my trainers to improve my physical condition and add more power to my punches.
"I'm so proud Japan will host this fight. It's a great honor for me."
