Watch: Gennadiy Golovkin gifts belt to Ryota Murata after war
Gennadiy Golovkin has shown his respect to Ryota Murata just after their war in Japan.
'GGG' and the Japanese fighter collided earlier today at the Saitama Super Arena. While many expected Golovkin to walk through the WBA (Super) Middleweight Champion, Murata gave him an incredible fight in the early rounds.
The 36-year-old won many early rounds of the contest and landed some huge shots to the body. 'GGG' sustained some major damage early in the bout, but came back with a fire of his own. By round nine, Golovkin was in complete control and was bludgening his opponent.
In round nine, the IBF and IBO Middleweight Champion closed the show with a huge right hand. Murata's team then threw in the towel, drawing a close to the bout. With the victory, Golovkin became the Unifed 160-pound Champion at 40 years old.
Following the bout, Golovkin again showed his class. He visited Murata in his locker room and returned his WBA title to him in a major sign of respect.
Watch Gennadiy Golovkin visit Ryota Murata in the video below:
@GGGBoxing]Gennady Golovkin visiting Ryota Murata to return his belt after their fight…
[🎥 @GGGBoxing] https://t.co/iXmSQp4C6a
Gennadiy Golovkin is now set to face Canelo Alvarez in September
Heading into his bout this weekend, Gennadiy Golovkin had a big weight on his shoulders. If he won, he would have a date with Canelo Alvarez in September.
'GGG' has now taken care of his business and he awaits the Mexican superstar to do the same. Alvarez is set to face Dmitry Bivol next month in a bid for WBA (super) light-heavyweight gold. If he is able to win, like many expect, their trilogy bout will take place in September.
The two men have fought twice before, in 2017 and 2018. Their first encounter ended in a controversial split-draw, despite many believing that Golovkin clearly won the bout. Thanks to the controversial nature of the scoring, they had a rematch a year later.
Once again, the two men had a close contest. This time, however, it was Alvarez who had his hand raised at the end of the night. The Mexican superstar won the bout via majority-decision and handed the 40-year-old the only loss of his career.
Now, almost four years later, the two men are nearly set to settle their business once again. All that stands between a trilogy bout is the undefeated Russian, Dmitry Bivol.