Report: Gennady Golovkin vs. Ryota Murata Agree In Principle To Middleweight Title Fight

By Fight Sports May 27, 2021

It appears Gennady Golovkin vs. Ryota Murata is on tap for the end of 2021.

Earlier in the week, Dan Rafael reported that Golovkin and Murata were in talks for a clash. The details weren’t hammered out but there were said to be plenty of options on the table. Now, Mike Coppinger has delivered an update.

Coppinger reports that Golovkin and Murata have now agreed in principle to a middleweight title bout for December 28 in Tokyo, Japan. Golovkin is the IBF and IBO Middleweight Champion, while Murata holds the WBA gold.

Source: Gennadiy Golovkin and Ryota Murata have an agreement in principle for a middleweight title unification fight Dec. 28 in Tokyo on DAZN. That’s Tuesday night in Japan, morning-time stateside. Plan is for both to stay busy with one fight beforehand, potentially on same card

— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) May 27, 2021

“Source: Gennady Golovkin and Ryota Murata have an agreement in principle for a middleweight title unification fight Dec. 28 in Tokyo on DAZN. That’s Tuesday night in Japan, morning-time stateside. Plan is for both to stay busy with one fight beforehand, potentially on same card.”

Golovkin last competed back in December 2020. He defeated Kamil Szeremeta to retain his IBF and IBO gold. Murata’s last outing was held in December 2019. He stopped Steven Butler via fifth-round TKO to successfully defend his WBA gold.

As Coppinger noted in his report, the plan is for both Golovkin and Murata to have warmup fights before their showdown to close out 2021. Their bouts could possibly be held on the same card.