Press Release: By DAZN – NEW YORK (November 11,
2021) -- Gennadiy "GGG" Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs), from
Karaganda, Kazakhstan, boxing's most dominant middleweight of his
era, is bringing the Big Drama Show and his IBF and IBO world title belts to
his opponent's backyard, Japan, where he will rumble with two-time WBA
middleweight kingpin Ryōta Murata (16-2, 13 KOs), in a
long-awaited title unification fight. Promoted by Teiken Promotions Inc.,
in association with GGG Promotions, Golovkin vs. Murata takes place Wednesday,
December 29, and will be streamed live from Saitama
Super Arena in Saitama, which border's Murata's hometown of Tokyo, to
over 200 countries and territories, including the U.S., exclusively on DAZN (excluding
Japan and Kazakhstan). In a battle of two-time world
champions and Olympic medalists, Golovkin and Murata will be looking to put
their stamp on, arguably, boxing's most storied weight class. They boast a
combined record of 57-3-1, 49 KOs -- a winning percentage of over 93% -- with
86% of their victories coming by way of knockout. Credit: DAZN
"I am really excited to be bringing the
Big Drama Show to Japan, a country where boxing is very popular," said
Golovkin. "Ryōta Murata has been an outstanding champion. It
is going to be a special night when we meet in the ring to unify our
titles. We are going to give the fans a great
fight."
"I feel that my entire amateur and
professional boxing career has been a preparation for this fight against
Gennadiy Golovkin. This fight will determine my place in the middleweight
division and boxing history," said Murata. "Gennadiy Golovkin
has long been the standard-bearer of the middleweight division. To me, he
is still undefeated. I have the highest respect for him. It has been
almost two years since my last fight, because of the pandemic, but I have put
that time to good use, working very hard with my trainers on improving my
physical conditioning and adding more power to my punches. I am so proud
Japan is hosting this fight. It is a great honor for
me."
“What a way to close out a fantastic 2021 of
boxing, with one of the best to ever step in the ring Gennadiy ‘GGG’
Golovkin facing off against Ryōta Murata for the WBA, IBF, and IBO
Middleweight World Titles,” said Ed Breeze, EVP Rights at DAZN. “Ryōta Murata takes a big step up against
the middleweight king GGG, who looks to continue his reign in the division
after dismantling Szeremeta last time out. This is set to be a
middleweight war, and we’re thrilled to have the fight live on DAZN on December
29.”
Golovkin, who has worn a world championship
belt every year since 2010, will be looking to build on his division-record of
successful title defenses, which currently stands at 21. He returns to
the ring in the midst of his second reign as a middleweight world
champion. Golovkin regained the IBF and IBO middleweight titles in 2019
with a unanimous decision victory over top-rated contender Sergiy
Derevyanchenko, a three-time world title challenger. It was a hellacious
toe-to-toe slugfest that had the frenzied crowd at Madison Square Garden on its
feet for the entire 12 rounds. Many considered it the Fight of the
Year. In his last fight, on December 18, 2020, Golovkin scored four
knockdowns against undefeated mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta, en route to
a seventh-round stoppage and a record 21st successful middleweight title
defense. Golovkin's Big Drama Show has packed iconic arenas around the
world, selling out Madison Square Garden, The O2 in London, the Fabulous Forum
and StubHub Center in Los Angeles, and T-Mobile Arena in Las
Vegas. This will be his first time fighting in Japan. His
11-year rampage on the middleweight division has also attracted millions of
viewers who have watched him on premium cable, pay-per-view, and DAZN. He
earned an Olympic silver medal as a middleweight in the 2004 summer games in
Athens.
Murata's two world title reigns have begun
with stoppage victories in immediate rematches that avenged losses.
After losing a split decision to Hassan N'Dam on May 20, 2017, for the vacant
WBA middleweight title, he dethroned N'Dam in the seventh round five months
later, on October 22, 2017. After a successful title defense -- an
eighth-round TKO of Emanuele Blandamura on April 15, 2018 -- Murata lost his title
to Rob Brant via a unanimous decision on October 20, 2018. Nine months
later, on July 12, 2019, Murata stopped Brant in the second round to reclaim
the WBA middleweight title. In his last fight, before the pandemic,
Murata successfully defended his title with a fifth-round TKO of once-beaten
Steven Butler. The six-foot Murata, one of Japan's most popular athletes,
first came to the world's attention when he captured the Olympic gold medal in
the middleweight division at the 2012 Olympics held in London. It
was the first gold medal won by a Japanese boxer since Takao Sakurai in 1964,
and also Japan's first-ever boxing medal in a weight class other than
bantamweight or flyweight. Murata also became the 100th gold medalist in
Japanese Olympic history. Murata’s last eight victories have come by
way of stoppage.
Material and Photo Courtesy of: DAZN Used with
permission.
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