IBF/IBO/WBA Middleweight Unification
The Matchroom/DAZN Middleweight Unification bout between IBF/IBO Champion Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 Kos) and WBA “Super” World Champion Ryota Murata (16-3, 13 Kos) at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan this morning, was an interesting bout for as long as it lasted.
It has been a little over 15 months since we last saw the aging but still very strong “GGG” grace the inside of that squared circle and after shaking off some cobwebs “GGG” proceeded to break down his opponent one round at a time. Real Talk!
I tip my “B” hat to Ryota who had the right “game plan” at first and stood his ground banging leather for leather with the hard hitting “GGG” but soon found out that withstanding toe to toe blows with “GGG”, and being at the receiving end of some serious destructive shots with “GGG” will leave you demoralized. Real Talk!
“GGG” looked strong and physically fit inside that squared circle but visibly looked tired at times whenever Ryota let loose with his hands going blow for blow. This bout was competitive in the earlier rounds but as “GGG” started to get comfortable, Ryota slowly started to breakdown from absorbing punishment coming at him from all angles.
Golovkin may not have had the foot movement or his usual punch output going for him this morning but he definitely had the power and the strength to knockdown Ryota in the ninth round which then prompted Murata’s trainer who had seen enough by then to throw in the towel.
With this dominant performance by Golovkin at the age of 40 years old, “GGG” showed us that he still has the goods to keep up with the best of them inside that squared circle. That said,
Golovkin is once again the Unified IBF/IBO/WBA “Super” Middleweight Champion of the World.
Although Golovkin has unfinished business that requires him to move up in weight to the 168-Pound Division and challenge the Pound-for Pound Undisputed “Kingpin” of the Super Middleweight Division Canelo Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 Kos), regardless of that outcome “GGG”, will still remain the most hunted in the 160-Pound Division.
Until then congratulations Golovkin on your latest accomplishments.
Blaze