 This coming Saturday we'll see unbeaten men collide as Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (11-0, 7) and Danny Dignum (14-0-1, 8) clash for the WBO "interim" Middleweight title, which is likely to be upgraded when Demetrius Andrade officially leaves the division and campaign full time at 168lbs.
Of the two men the more impressive is the 29 year old Alimkhanuly, who has began shining in recent bouts, putting things together and beating notable names in the form of Rob Brant and Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam. Prior to really breaking out Alimkhanuly had long been regarded as something of a hidden gem that just hadn't quite clicked as a professional. He had been a stellar amateur, and a lot of his amateur traits remained in the early part of his career, particularly in his wins over the likes of Carlos Galvan, Vaughn Alexander and Cristian Olivas. To his credit though it appears those bouts served as his apprenticeship to the professional scene, and his more recent wins have seen him showing more class, more killer instinct and a real bit of spite. His win over Gonzalo Gaston Coria showed that spite, with 2020 KO of the year contender, whilst his wins over Rob Brant and Hassan N'Dam saw him stopping two former world champions and going about it in a methodical and almost sadastic fashion, beating them up round after round, whilst barely taking anything in return. In the ring Alimkhanuly is a sensationally talented boxer. He's never going to go down as a KO artist, but his shots have venom and get opponents respect. He combines high levels skills with impressive speed, a fluidity to his boxing, and a brain that thinks a few steps ahead. He's not going to take risks, or be the most exciting of fighters, but he is going to be a danger man to the division due to his ring IQ, his consistency, and his skills, which are very high level. He takes his time, he allows himself to settle and then chips away at opponents, using educated and intelligent pressure, behind his crisp clean punches. To top it all off, he's also a southpaw, making him even more of a nightmare for opponents, and allowing him to set things up from awkward angles and catch opponent from angles they aren't used to. Against a top pressure fighter, with quick feet he may struggle, but against those who try to box it's hard to see many in the division out boxing him. Aged 30 English fighter Danny Dignum is also an unbeaten Southpaw. His competition has, however, been a lot less notable than that of Alimkhanuly with his best results being a draw with Andrey Sirotkin last year, and wins over the likes of Grant Dennis, Alfredo Meli, Conrad Cummings and Rafal Jackiewicz. In fact they are his only wins over fighters with winning records. Despite that he will know that he's expected to be the under-dog, and the pressure is on Alimkhanuly to shine, and the focus will be, in many ways, on the Kazakh allowing Dignum to focus on himself and his fight, rather than what's going on outside of himself. In the ring Dignum is a fight who likes to come forward, stalking his opponents and get inside. He's a patient stalker in many ways and does have some nice counter punching in his arsenal. He is however a bit predictable. He doesn't mix things up too much, and despite having nice counters he does seem a bit pedestrian, without too much sharpness or fluidity to his work. In fact he quite often looks sloppy with his punched, and really slow with his straight shots. There's almost a ponderous nature to how he fights. Worryingly for him is the fact opponents can catch him with straight shots of their own, and he's not a particularly smart defensive fighter. That's not to say he's there to be hit, but his defenses are relatively limited, even at the low level he's been fighting at. He's what we consider a good continental level fighter, a bit like a solid OPBF champion, but that level is well below genuine world class and we suspect that will be seen here. Coming in to this we suspect Dignum just doesn't have what it takes to really test Alimkhanuly and his slow, almost deliberate pressure style will actually be made to order for the Kazakh. Alimkhanuly's crisper, cleaner, harder and sharper punches will make the most of Dignum's porous defense. And round by round Alimkhanuly's shots will chip away at Dignum, who will be left swollen, bloodied, beaten and eventually stopped, either by the referee or his team, knowing that he has stepped too much in this bout. Prediction - TKO9 Alimkhanuly
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It's rare that Japan gets to host one of the biggest and most anticipated fights of the year, but that's exactly what we get this Saturday as we finally get to see the Middleweight mega clash between Gennadiy Golovkin (41-1-1, 36) and Ryota Murata (16-2, 13). The bout will not just be a huge bout for Japan, but also the boxing world, and a huge Middleweight unification bout, as Golovkin risks his IBF title against WBA "Super" champion Murata. It is also the culmination of years of chasing by Murata and his team for a super fight, with Golovkin having been on Murata's wish list for the better part of a decade, along with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
Whilst the bout has long been spoken about in Japan it often seemed out of reach for Murata and Teiken. That was until last year when a deal was finally agreed to have the bout in Japan, in December. Sadly though the best laid plans of Teiken were unable to go ahead when the Omicron variant of Coronavirus was discovered, leading to the Japanese government closing the borders and preventing Golovkin for travelling for the bout, and forcing it to be postponed until this coming weekend. Despite the delay the bout remains one of the most notable bouts on the schedule, and one that promises genuine fireworks. It also, could, end up being the final time we see one, if not both, of these men in the ring. Of the two fighters the more well known, by far, is Golovkin. "GGG" has been a fixture on the global boxing scene as both and amateur and a professional. As an amateur he was a stellar fighter who won a whole host of notable honours. He was a World Championship gold medal winner, a multi-time World Cup winner, an Asian Championship gold medal winner winner and an Olympic silver medal winner. In over 350 amateur bouts he only suffered a handful of losses, and turned professional with a lot of expectation on his shoulders. Sadly the early part of Golovkin's professional career was somewhat wasted, as he was tucked away on Universum cards in Germany. When he finally left Universum there was a delay in him really getting his career going due to contractual issues with Universum and it wasn't until 2012, aged 30, that he finally got a chance to fight in the US. By that point Golovkin was 23-0 (20) and had held the WBA "regular" title for almost 2 years. Since 2012 however he has been one of the faces of boxing, with regular bouts in the US and wins over fighters like Gabe Rosado, Daniel Geale, David Lemieux, Kell Brook, Daniel Jacobs and Sergiy Derevyanchenko, as well as two sensational battles with Saul Alvarez, which saw Golovkin going 0-1-1 against the Mexican icon. We don't think we really need to go into Golovkin's style too much, but for those few who haven't followed him through the years, the Kazakh is a massive punching fighter, who applies intelligent, constant and intense pressure. He combines an impressive work rate, with very heavy hands, an incredibly chin, and incredibly good technical skills. Looking for flaws with Golovkin isn't as tough as it once was. In the past his defense was his major flaw, though given his chin it perhaps wasn't much of a flaw. Now a days though he has slowed significantly, his footwork isn't what it once was, although he was never quick he has seemingly slowed down with the bouts against Steve Rolls and Sergiy Derevyanchenko, in 2019, suggesting cracks were showing. Also, at the age of 40 and having been inactive since December 2020, it's hard to know what he still has in the tank, and what he can still do in the ring. He looked great against Kamil Szeremeta, but Szeremeta offered very little and was stopped again just 6 months later, by Jamie Munguia, before being held to a draw at the end of 2021 by Nizar Trimech. It could well be that that bout flattered Golovkin, rather than showed a resurgence from the Kazakh. As for Murata, like Golovkin he was also a very good amateur, and had a style suited to the professional ranks. Among his amateur accomplishments are a world championship silver medal and an Olympic gold medal. Unlike Golovkin though he wasn't a major star on the unpaid ranks for long, and only really had a stretch of a year or two where he made a huge amount of noise, before eventually turning professional in 2013. As a professional he moved pretty quickly, beating the OPBF champion on debut, and scored a string of solid wins to begin his career. His first 10 opponents had a combined 188-39-10 record, showing the strength of his early competition, and he was fighting in 10 rounders as early as his 4th bout. Sadly though his performance were somewhat hit and miss, and there was times where he seemed to go through the motions, rather than show what he can really do. When he has put his foot on the gas, and things have clicked, he has shone, such as his stoppage wins against Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam, Rob Brant and Steven Butler. As mentioned, when it comes to Murata's performances they have been hit and miss. At times he can look plodding, ponderous, and almost disinterested. This was seen in 2018 when he was dominated by Rob Brant. It seemed, in many ways, he had over-looked Brant, and had come in incredibly flat. When he's on form however he's a big, strong, powerful, pressure fighter, who uses a tight high guard, a stiff jab, and a huge ramrod right hand to break opponents down. His chin is solid, his work rate is decent, and physically he's a very scary fighter. He's not the busiest, or the sharpest, but he can change tempo really well, and when he lets his combinations go he can look brutal, and has dismantled very solid fighters. He is made for TV, with his offensive prowess and his defensive flaws alongside his brutal thudding power, though often looks a bit basic. Aged 36 he'll know that this is his likely his last chance to make a mark on the wider boxing world, and a win over Golovkin would certainly do that, but he has also been very inactive, having not fought since the end of 2019, something that could really hurt him here. In their primes, there is no debating the result of this bout. Golovkin would win every time. But neither man is in their prime anymore. Golovkin is now 40, he has visible slowed in bouts, and although the much better technical boxer, his slowing feet might allow Murata to force his will on the bout more than many would expect. Likewise Murata isn't in his prime but he's a big old brute at the division, and will trudge forward looking to use his size and strength, though might not be able to pull the trigger like a 30 or 31 year old can. One thing is for certain. Both of these guys are aggressive. Both like to let their hands go and see defense as something that really isn't their strong point. That could lead to this becoming something of a fire fight up close and personal, with both leaning into and on top of the other man, unleashing shots and mid and close range, in a battle of machismo. If that happens we, as fans, are in for a treat, and could end up with something very special, despite both men being on the older side of things. If Golovkin's legs are still youthful and bouncy enough, he should have enough to dictate the tempo, and control Murata at mid range and more than hold his own up close. If that happens Golovkin takes either stoppage or wide decision. If Murata can however get inside, and make this a battle of wills, he has a genuine chance of an upset, in an all out war, thanks to the age of Golovkin. Whilst we can see a potential route to victory for Murata, we would still deem that a very big upset, and a genuine surprise. With that in mind we are expecting to see Golokin win, but go through hell to take the W in a bruising, brutal, tough, bout. Prediction - TKO10 Golovkin  On December 18th, just a week before Christmas, we'll see the next big show from DAZN. The most notable bout on that card, by some margin, is the ring return of IBF Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1, 35), who looks to make his first defense since recapturing the title last year. In the opposite corner to the Kazakh great is unbeaten Polish challenger Kamil Szeremeta (21-0, 5), who will be getting the biggest fight of his career, by some margin.
The bout has been one of the many long running saga's of 2020. The bout had been spoken about as taking place in the spring, before Golovkin required surgery. It was then delayed several times due to the on going global situation and now it's been 14 months since Golovkin beat Sergiy Derevyanchenko for the title in their 2019 barn burner. At his best Golovkin was, legitimately, one of the best fighters in the sport. He was a very well schooled fighter who had been developed fantastically in the amateurs. He had then turned professional and had risen through the ranks quietly until making his American debut in 2012, at the age of 30. By that point he was 23-0 (20). Despite being a well schooled fighter Golovkin really made his name as an aggressive boxer-puncher, showcasing brutal power, an iron chin, and a decent boxing brain with a charming personality. He was helped by HBO pushing him as a legitimate star and he went on a good run though solid B tier contenders, whilst failing to secure a massive mega fight until 2017. It was then he fought Daniel Jacobs, taking a win over Jacobs, but by then Golovkin was already 34, and it seemed like that was the start of his slowdown. Since beating Jacobs, in a very close fight, Golovkin has gone 3-1-1, with his loss and draw both coming in close fights to Mexican star Saul Alvarez. In our eyes he had done enough to deserve a win in the first bout but had, fairly, lost the second. In his pomp Golovkin really looked like a terminator in the ring. He wasn't the most defensively aware but that hardly mattered. His chin was rock solid, he walked through fire when he had to, and had bricks for hands. He could also maintain a wolid work rate, and was great up top and to the body. Often making opponents mentally crumble just as much as physically fall apart. Now at the age of 38 and with injuries piling up we do wonder what he has left, and he really was pushed hard by Derevyanchenko last time out, adding 12 tough miles on to the clock. In fact since that Jacobs fight Golovkin had taken a lot of punishment with 24 rounds against Canelo and the 12 against Derevyanchenko and we do wonder just how many more tough bouts he has left in him. At 31 years old Szeremeta is pretty much at the "now or never" stage of his career. Sadly for him he's not really had the fights to prepare for this level of fight, though he has had good success in the European ranks, beating the likes of Rafal Jackiewicz, Patrick Mendy, Alessandro Goddi, Ruben Diaz and Andrew Francillette, as well as the shell of Kassim Ouma. Sadly though his competition is really, at best, European level and worryingly he's struggled to make an impact even at that level, in terms of power. In fact with only 5 stoppages in 21 bouts he is among the most feather fisted fighters to challenger for a title, at any weight, this year. Despite his competition being poor Szeremeta himself isn't actually an awful fighter. He's got nice hand, lovely upperbody movement and picks a shot well, with a very nice crisp, sharp jab. He looks at his best when he's stood in the center of the ring, applying pressure, using his jab to tattoo an opponents face and countering well. Technically he does look a talented fighter who knows his way around the ring and how to box. He's fairly basic, and super feather fisted, but he can box. Whilst we certainly think that Golovkin is on the slide, and has been for a few years, it's hard to see what Szeremeta can really do to ask questions of him. Yes Szeremeta is skills, but like many of Golovkin's former opponents there is nothing there too make you give him a chance against the Kazakh. In fact if anything the fact Szeremeta likes to hold his ground is going to be a major issue and leave him open to Golovkin's heavy shots, especially to the body. We suspect that Szeremeta will have success early on, and might even manage to win a few rounds from Golovkin early on. But then we see Golovkin catching up with the Pole, hammering him with solid, single shots, having no fear of what's coming back, and breaking down Szeremeta in the middle rounds. Prediction - Golovkin TKO 7  On December 23rd Japan's Ryota Murata (15-2, 12) will look to make his first defense of the WBA Middleweight title, as he takes on hard hitting Canadian foe Steven Butler (28-1-1, 24). The bout will be the main event of a triple header in Yokohama and is expected to draw in an immense TV audience in Japan, as well as a solid audience from external markets, with the bout being shown around the world. For Murata the bout is a chance to claim a notable win and move towards some huge bouts in 2020, with talk of potential bouts against the likes of Saul Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin and Terence Crawford in the near future. As for Butler the bout is a huge opportunity to become a star, and go from contender to champion.
Of the two men it's Murata who is the star. What many don't realise is just how much of a star he is in Japan. He is probably the only man with a bigger fan base in the country than Naoya Inoue. We all know Inoue is a star, and the fact Murata matches him shows what a draw he is. He's a former amateur standout, who famously won a gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012 and also won a silver medal at the World Amateur Championships in 2011. He is the first Japanese fighter to go from winning Olimpic gold to winning a world title as a professional, and he is also only the second ever Japanese fighter to win a world title at Middleweight, following Shinji Takehara. For those who haven't haven't seen much of Murata, he is technically quite basic. He's a a come forward pressure fighter who marches forward behind a tight guard, with a very powerful jab and works well on the inside. At times however he is inconsistent. His 2018 loss to Rob Brant saw him slowly following Brant around the ring, never getting out of second gear, never letting his hands go with any consistency and never fully committing to his strengths. He tried to box the boxer, and he made to look foolish. In their rematch however he used his jab, his strength and his power and battered Brant to the point the referee needed to step in. It was only a glimpse of what Murata can do, but it did show that Murata can look good when he's aggressive. He takes a shot well, he's strong, he's powerful and when he fights to his potential he's really tough to beat. It's just a shame we rarely see him fighting at his best. At 33 years old he now needs to fight to his potential, as any slip is probably going to kill any hope of getting a super fight. At 24 years old Butler is a rising youngster, with a power punching style and strong promotional backing. Butler likes to fight on the outside, using his freakishly long arms and reach to keep the bout at range. Although he's not actually a big Middleweight he does look like a rangy Middleweight, though that may be exaggerated by the fact some of his opponents have been small, making him look bigger than he is. One thing that is really obvious from watching him, no matter who he was fighting, was the fact that whilst he is heavy handed his shots don't look particularly crisp. His power is more thudding, dead heavy hands, rather than explosive or elastic power. He often looks pushing his shots a touch. More worrying than his punching technique is the fact he really is open when he fires off shots. A top class fighter will counter him and time him, as Vitalii Kopylenko did earlier this year. As well as his openness he has also been hurt to the body, and Kopylenko actually dropped him with a body shot. Despite the flaws with Butler he and his team are confident. They travelled to Japan more than 2 weeks before the fight, and Butler has certainly had time to acclimatise to the Japanese conditions, the change in time zone, and the weather. What that won't help with is the atmosphere, and here he is very much going into the dragons den. Whilst Japanese fans are typically respectful to visitors, they are still very behind their local hero's and they will be there cheering on Murata. For Butler to not have the crowd support could be an issue. Especially when he's having to fight off the pressure of Murata, who will be looking to get to his body and take away his legs. Butler's power might look impressive on paper, but the reality is that this is a huge step up in class for him, and it's hard to imagine that power having the same effect on Murata that it's had on Butler's previous foes. Instead we see Butler starting with a lot of self belief, but having that self belief chipped away at. By the middle rounds Murata's body shots, stiff jab up top, and his pressure, will have destroyed the belief of Butler and will then destroy his dreams. Prediction - TKO8 Murata 
On October 5th we'll see Kazakh fighter Gennady Golovkin (39-1-1, 35) attempt to reclaim the IBF Middleweight title, which was stripped from him last year, as he takes on Ukrainian Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-1, 10) for the vacant belt. The bout isn't a huge bout, such as a third bout between Golovkin and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, but it's still one of the very best bouts that could be made at Middleweight.
Now aged 37 Golovkin is certainly a fighter who is on the wrong end of his prime, in fact he's visibly slipped beyond his best. The Kazakh is still a hard hitting, technically well schooled fighter, but he's lost a step. His speed, which was never great, has slowed, his movement is a little more clumsy and his defense is still as open as it was earlier in his career. Yes he still has a great chin, great recuperative powers and crushing power, but he looked rather clumsy and slow against Steve Rolls, last time out and not the fighter he was just a couple of years earlier. He looks more beatable than he once did, he looks like he can be out worked and out boxed, and it'd not be a major shock if he did lose in the near future to someone he'd have beaten a few years ago. Despite being past his best Golovkin is of course still a top fighter. The only marks on his record have both come to Saul Alvarez, with a draw in 2017 and a loss in 2018, both bouts were incredibly close and he wasn't outclassed in either, but he has fought just 4 rounds since the second Alvarez fight, 13 months ago. With his age, natural decline and inactivity we do wonder just how good Golovkin will be here and how much he has left in the well. He has also been dealing with a lot of out of the ring issues, including splits with his long term trainer and former management team. The Ukrainian is a 33 year old who is technically a fantastic fighter, and like Golovkin was a stellar amateur. He is best known for winning a bronze medal at the 2007 World Amateur Championships, but he also competed in the 2008 Olympics, fought in the 2009 World Championships and the World Series Boxing. In the amateurs he was well regarded for his technique and speed, though was certainly not the biggest fighter at the weight and that proved to be an issue at times. Now, as a professional, he is still a rather under-sized Middleweight, but is an excellent, busy, quick, sharp and solid punching fighter. He's not the biggest puncher, the quickest, the most defensively smart of the best, but he's very solid in every way, other than natural size, and to be honest he'd probably have had more success had he been fighting at Light Middleweight. At his best Derevyanchenko has the style to really test anyone, as we saw in his loss to Daniel Jacobs last year and in wins over the likes Tureano Johnson and Jack Culcay. He could give Golovkin real issues with his work rate, movement, will to win and speed. He is a big step up from the likes of Steve Rolls and Vanes Martirosyan and should be regarded as one of Golovkin's toughest foes so far. Sadly though his lack of single punch power won't stop Golovkin coming forward, and we suspect, sooner or later, Golovkin will get to Derevyanchenko. We suspect Derevyanchenko will have success early on, but as the bout goes on, and as Golovkin starts to land his straight shots he'll begin to take over and begin to rack up the rounds en route to a clear, yet competitive, decision. Prediction UD12 Golovkin  In October 2018 we saw American Rob Brant (25-1, 17) end Ryota Murata's (14-2, 11) short lived reign as the WBA "regular" Middleweight champion, upsetting the Japanese fighter over 12 1-sided rounds. The bout, which was supposed to be a big opportunity for Murata to shine on US soil against a limited challenger backfired, big time, with Brant using Murata for target practice over 12 rounds.
It was as humiliating a 12 round decision loss that we've seen a champion suffer in years, and in many ways it was similar to Joe Calzaghe's dominant win over Jeff Lacy. Brant, like Calzaghe, was the under-dog who set an insane work rate and Murata, like Lacy, was made to look slow and clumsy, unable to use their vaunted power. Both were boxing's answer to death by 1000 cuts, with neither Calzaghe or Brant having the power to stop their opponent, but having the work rate to handcuff them, dominate them and leave their man mentally questioning their future. The question coming in, is whether Murata can do what Lacy couldn't, and can rebuild his career? We'll find out on July 12th when Murata gets his rematch with Brant in Osaka, as the headline bout of a big Japanese card! When Murata turned professional, originally with Top Rank in the US and Misako and Teiken in Japan, he did so with a lot of fanfare and attention. He made his debut in 2013, stopping the then Japanese OPBF Middleweight champion Akio Shibata, with that win following incredible amateur success, including an Olympic gold medal and a World Amateur silver medal. His amateur pedigree and professional debut seemed to put him on the fast track to the top, though unfortunately he didn't really shine as many had hoped. As a professional he looked good, strong, but never great. He looked effective, but basic, only showing glimpses of brilliance. Sadly for Murata he would never really replicate his amateur success in the professional ranks. He would never develop beyond being a strong but basic fighter. He had thudding power in each hand, a great chin, good stamina and applied solid pressure, as we saw in both of his bouts with Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam. Sadly though he would never develop the tools to use a plan B. He never looked quick or sharp, just always consistent, basic and thudding. It was enough to win his bouts against his earlier foes, and yes we all know he was robbed in the first bout N'Dam, but against Brant he was too slow and seemed like he was made to order for Brant. Brant had entered the first bout with Murata as the mandatory challenger, but someone who was given little chance. He was, seemingly, the latest in a long line of boxing's undeserving mandatory challengers. He had done nothing to earn a shot and had lost, just 12 months earlier, to Juergen Braehmer in what was a pretty clear defeat to the German veteran. What few expected was for Brant to look like a totally different fighter to the one who had froze on the big stage against Braehmer. Against Murata he looked like a perpetual punching machine, a tireless bundle of energy, who set an insane work rate, threw an average of 105 punches a round, neutralising Murata with work rate. He out landed the Japanese fighter round after round. Officially in their first bout Brant landed 356 punches, to Murata's 180, though watching the fighting it seemed like there was an even bigger difference between the two men. Although Brant had gone into the bout as the under-dog he had dominated Murata and went on to successfully defend the belt this past February, when he stopped the previously unbeaten Khasan Baysangurov. That bout saw Brant show a bit more venom on his shots, dropping Baysangurov in rounds 2 and 11 to force a TKO win. He hadn't become a puncher, but had seemingly just added a bit more to his game after winning the title, and looked like a solid, if still under-rated, Middleweight. Sadly for Murata it's hard to see how he can do anything to change the outcome from the first bout. He was too slow, too open, too basic, fought too 1-paced and showed so little hunger and variation. For him to beat Brant would take one of 3 things. Either he hands a freak 1-punch KO, shocking Brant. He gets Brant to freeze, shocked by the atmosphere, and takes the win due to Brant not adapting to being in Japan. He totally reinvents himself at the age of 33, and has some how remodelled his entire style in just 9 months. The odds on any of those 3 things happening are slim, and we really can't see how Murata avenges his loss here. He looked lost, and we expected the same again, with perhaps a late mercy stoppage if he takes clean and repeated head shots in the championship rounds, as he did in their first bout. Prediction TKO12 Brant  By - George Delis (@Delisketo)
On October 20, Olympic Gold Medalist Ryota Murata will make his second defense of the WBA Middleweight World Title against Rob Brant, in the States. Ryota Murata (14-1 / 11 KOs) is one of Japan’s biggest boxing superstars. Names like Naoya Inoue, Kosei Tanaka, Hiroto Kyoguchi, Kazuto Ioka (and more), who all are now (current or former) world champions, have had quite the accomplished amateur careers, but none like his. It could take an entire article of its own so I will try and keep this as short as possible. Murata managed to win the prestigious All Japan Championship 5 times, in 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011, as well as earning the bronze at the 2005 Asian Championships, the silver at the 2005 King’s Cup in Bangkok and the silver again at the 2011 World Championships. In 2012, he finally realized his dream of becoming an Olympic champion, thus making history on multiple fronts, as he became Japan’s only second boxer to win a gold medal at the Olympics, the other being Takao Sakurai in 1964, almost half a century ago, and the first ever Japanese boxer to win it in the middleweight division. During his illustrious amateur run, which lasted nearly a decade, he fought and beat several major names like Abbos Atoev, a gold medalist at the 2007 & 2009 World Championships and Esquiva Falcao, a silver medalist at the 2012 Olympic Games, who turned pro in 2014 and has amassed a record of 21 wins and zero losses (currently ranked #6 by the WBA at the middleweight division). Murata’s amateur record is 119-18, with 89 referee stoppages. Murata made his much anticipated pro debut in 2013 against former Japanese & OPBF champion Akio Shibata (21-7*) at the Ariake Colosseum. He proved his dominance by knocking Akio down in just the first round and causing the referee to step in the second after putting a beating on the veteran fighter. After despatching Dave Peterson (13-1*), in a one sided beat down, he faced former world title contender Carlos Nascimento (29-3*). In the third round, Murata landed a lighting fast uppercut, followed by a nice combination of punches that floored Carlos. The punishment continued throughout the fourth as well, leading to the TKO win. Basically Murata’s pro run can be described with one word: Destruction! Besides 3 decision victories, he has stopped everyone who has been in the ring with. Jesus Angel Nerio (12-4*) fell victim to his patented right straight, much like Gaston Alejandro Vega (24-10) and Felipe Santos Pedroso (13-1). Douglas Ataide (13-1*) actually gave Murata one competitive round, but in the end, he shared the same fate as the rest. His fights with George Tahdooahnippah (34-2*) and Bruno Sandoval (19-1*) weren’t even close. Possibly his two most dominant wins to date. On May 20 of 2017, the Olympian was ready to make history once more when he met interim champion Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam (35-2*) for the vacant WBA Middleweight World Title. The Japanese challenger scored an early knockdown in the fourth round, courtesy of a right straight to the jaw of Hassan, much to the delight of the fans in Tokyo. He almost dropped him again in the next but Hassan held his ground and came back firing shots. The fight turned out to be a back and forth affair, with Murata turning the heat up in the later rounds, catching the interim champ flash on numerous occasions. Both men went from punch to punch until the closing bell. Everyone was expecting for Murata to be crowned the new world champion, as he was always a step ahead of Hassan, for the majority of the bout. However, 2 of the judges didn’t see it that way, since they awarded the French fighter with the split decision and the title. The crowd started booing heavily, which it’s not something we see very often in Japan, unless there’s a dubious decision or any unprofessional conduct from the fighters’ side. The rematch was set for October of the same year. Murata, much like in their previous encounter, had the upper hand, as he kept rocking the champion constantly with his right straight punches and body shots, all the time. It quickly became like every other Murata fight, where his opponent was practically helpless against his power and speed. After the seventh round, Hassan simply gave up, refusing to continue the fight. As a result, Murata was declared the new World Champion. 5 years later after winning gold in London, Ryota Murata wrote history again as not only he became just the second Japanese to win a middleweight world title in boxing (Shinji Takehara won the WBA belt back in 1995) but also the very first Japanese boxer to win both an Olympic Gold and a World Championship. His first defense took place this past April, when he stopped former EBU champion Emanuele Felice Blandamura (27-2*), in the eight round. Also a historic win as he became the first Japanese Middleweight World Champion to successfully defend the belt atleast once (Shinji Takehara lost the title in his one and only defense). Murata’s next challenger will be American fighter Rob Brant (23-1 / 16 KOs), this Saturday in Las Vegas. It’s obvious that Brant is nowhere near the Olympian’s level. His brawling style will not work here against Murata, who can fight you in a phone booth or can knock you out with a right straight, which you probably won’t even see it coming. At this point of his career, Murata needs bigger challenges like David Lemieux (40-4), Kamil Szeremeta (18-0), Esquiva Falcao (21-0) which will be intriguing given their history, or the former world champion himself Gennady Golovkin (38-1) who had expressed interest in fighting Murata in the past. Actually, a battle with GGG would make more sense, especially now that Murata is the sole WBA Middleweight World Champion (the super champion Canelo vacated the belt when he decided to move up a weight class). Considering that his 2 fights with Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam drew close to 30 million viewers, in Japan alone, a clash with the former middleweight kingpin at the Tokyo Dome, would be one of the ages. Plus, if that match is to take place, it will be the first time a Japanese boxer has main evented the Big Egg. But for all that to happen, Murata must finish with this mandatory challenge first, which in my opinion, shouldn’t be that hard. The best is yet to come for Japan’s favourite son! *Fighter’s record prior to the fight mentioned.  This coming Saturday we'll see one of the biggest fights of 2018, as we get the long awaited rematch between Kazakh Middleweight sensation Gennady Golovkin (38-0-1, 34) and Mexican boxing superstar Saul Alvarez (49-1-2, 34). The rematch comes a year after their highly controversial draw, which saw Golovkin retain the WBA “super”, WBC and IBF Middleweight titles whilst also continuing his unbeaten run. It also saw “Canelo” Alvarez face criticism for his style and for favourable judging, especially from Adalaide Byrd who had him winning 118-110.
This rematch was supposed to take place back in May, though was cancelled at short notice when Alvarez tested positive for Clenbuterol. Although the Mexican blamed food, specifically beef, for the positive test it does seem like he's not taken responsibility for his actions, something that has continued to anger the Golovkin team. On the flipside of that however is Golovkin's trainer Abel Sanchez making various accusations about Canelo, including mentioning a suspect wrapping technique. Although the two men went into the first bout with a lot of respect for each other it does seem like this rematch will be fought will less respect and more emotion. Both men seem to have a genuine dislike of the other, their fan bases and their teams. There is still some mutual respect of the other's ability, but as people it's clear the two will be on each other's Christmas card list in December. Despite their animosity we're expecting to see both men put in a calculated performance as they look to improve on what they did last time out, and take home a victory here. In their first bout the heavy handed Golovkin took centre ring, he backed up Canelo and seemed to be the clear aggressor. Not only that but he had the higher output, the better work rate and the more consistent offensive work. Sadly for Golovkin he failed to go to the body for the most part and looked to be on the end of the biggest single shots. By failing to go to the body he allowed thr younger, quicker, Canelo to get away, and perhaps if he had gone to the body he would have made the Mexican stay still a little more, and even opened him up for the heavier head shots that could have made the difference. Those who have seen Golovkin over the last few years will know what to expect from him. He's a strong, powerful boxer-puncher. Technically he's solid with an impressive jab and under-rated footwork. Sadly he's now 36 and just losing that half a step he once had. His power is still impressive, as we saw in May against Vanes Martirosyan, but doesn't look as devastating as it once did and relative lack of speed is obvious in terms of both his footwork and his handspeed, as well as his defense. Canelo, who was once a front foot fighter who applied pressure and used his physical traits in an imposing manner, has rounded out to be one of the sports better all-rounders. Again Golovkin he showed good movement, an ability to stick to a game plan and excellent counter punching. Sadly one of the issues that has always been a problem for Alvarez is his work rate. Whilst what he landed on Golovkin was quality his actual output was disappointing, and not for the first time it felt like he had ran out of steam to keep up any sort of sustained attack. He had moments but they were fleeting, short lived and tended to consist of a single shot or two. With 52 bouts under his belt the 28 year old Mexican is a true veteran, with almost 13 years of professional experience behind him. There is a chance that he will age quickly, and he's been in tough bouts against the likes of Golovkin, Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout and Floyd Mayweather, who all caught him clean. Saying that however he looked like their was still a lot of miles left on the clock last time out and a year out of the ring since then will certainly do him no harm, allowing him to rest and recover from any niggles he's had. If he's used the time since May wisely he may well be in the best shape of his career, for a bout he simply cannot afford to lose. We're expecting this bout to be very similar to the first bout between these two. We think, again, that Golovkin will press forward, backing Canelo on the ropes. We also think Canelo will box well off the back foot. The key to winning however will be what changes the fighter makes. If Golovkin can go to the body he increases his chance, if Canelo can increase his output by 10% then he'll probably do enough to take the victory. It really is one where small changes will decide the outcome. Of the two we think Golovkin will make the changes easier. He has a proven ability to go to the body, breaking down good fighters with body shots. We've never seen Canelo show a great work work rate, especially not against a fighter who can hit him back. We think Golovkin will make the alternation needed, and will do so in a way that the judges won't be able to deny him. We also think that there has been a general downward view on Canelo and where the judges may have favoured him based on fan reaction in the past, that won't be an issue, and the judges may well find themselves scoring the closer rounds to Golovkin, this time around.  It's fair to say the last few weeks have been both interesting and frustrating for those involved in the career of Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1, 33). The Kazakh great saw a rematch with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez being cancelled after Alvarez pulled out, following a failed drugs test, and left Tom Loeffler scrambling around for a replacement, with only a few weeks to go. After several opponents were looked into the one who ended up taking the fight was Vanes Martirosyan (36-3-1, 21), who had been out of the ring for almost 2 years and had lost 2 of his previous 3. It was a less than great decision, but meant that Golovkin would stay active, having been out of the ring since last September.
At his best Golovkin was a Middleweight wrecking ball, combining skills, power and toughness. He was an aggressive but calculated pressure fighter who had a desire to prove he was the best and to unify the Middleweight division. In recent bouts however the Kazakh has began to look his age, and whilst still a top fighter he's not looked as much of a destructive force as he once was. Part of that is to do with his competition, which has picked up in quality, but part of it is also to do with his age which is starting to catch up with him. Golovkin was a former amateur star before turning professional in 2006. He would claim the WBA “interim” title in 2010 and has grown from there, becoming a staple of the US boxing scene since beating Grzegorz Proksa in 2012. Although he does lack in terms of career defining wins he has pretty much cleaned out the division of contenders ever since, beating the likes of Gabriel Rosado, Matthew Macklin, Curtis Stevens, Daniel Geale, Marco Antonio Rubio, Martin Murray, David Lemieux and Daniel Jacobs. The one blotch on his record was a very controversial draw that lead many to question what Adalaide Byrd had been watching during the fight. Sadly the draw cost Golovkin a career defining win, and lead to the mess of the rematch, the rematch that would be cancelled due to Canelo's positive drug test. Again at his very best Golovkin has everything but speed, though used good IQ, timing and footwork to hide that flaw. He would bring the pressure, and break people down. In his last 2 bouts he has been taken the distance, and in his bout before that, against Kell Brook, he looked slow and a little bit clumsy. We need to go back over 2 years for the last really impressive performance from Golovkin, his win over Lemieux, and it's worth questioning what he really has left at the top level. He's still a good fighter, but the likes of Billy Joe Saunders, Canelo, Ryota Murata and Sergiy Derevyanchenko all seem to be eyeing up the Kazakh, something that wasn't happening a couple of years ago. Martirosyan was a solid amateur himself, representing the US at the 2004 Olympics before making his professional debut the following year. Despite his amateur pedigree he was matched softly, and moved very slowly through the professional ranks, despite looking like someone who would have loved to have been tested early on. The kid gloves in terms of his development was because of his age, he was only 18 when he turned professional, but the progress of his career really was frustratingly slow. His first real tests coming in 2008, when he was matched with the likes of Michi Munoz, Angel Hernandez and Michael Medina. Sadly rather than move onwards and upwards from those wins he was kept at that sort of level until 2010, when he took on former world champion Kassim Ouma. Ouma, who would also give Golovkin fits, was very unlucky not to defeat Martirosyan in a bout that could easily have gone his way. In many ways Martirosyan's struggle with Ouma showed a lot, and perhaps explained why his team had been so protective of him. Despite the struggle he did continue on with his career, winning a WBC eliminator in 2011 before fighting to a technical draw in a final eliminator in 2012. By then Martirosyan had been a professional for 7 years and his career, which had promised a lot, had really failed to deliver. He would finally get a world title fight a year later, losing a split decision to Demetrius Andrade. Losses in 2 of his subsequent 5 fights, to Jermell Charlo and a rematch to Lara really act as set backs to Martirosyan's dreams and he's not fought since the loss to Lara in May 2016. Although a solid boxer, with decent power, decent movement and decent skills Martirosyan hasn't proven those traits at Middleweight, having fought much of his career at Light Middleweight, he has been inactive, as mentioned, and has been down a number of times during his career. Going up against a strong, powerful Middleweight like Golovkin won't bode well for the challenger. Martirosyan might have the speed to be competitive early on, but we can't help but think that Golovkin's power will be too much, and he'll stop the challenger in the middle rounds to retain the WBA “super”, WBO and IBO Middleweight titles.  It'd be fair to say that 2017 was both the best, and the worst year for Ryota Murata (13-1, 10) as a professional boxer. In May he was robbed of the WBA Middleweight title, when the judges some how scored his first bout with Hassan N'Dam N'Jikan in favour of the French fighter, in one of the worst decisions of the year. In October however he avenged that loss by dominating N'Dam on route to a 7th round retirement of the Frenchman, to then claim the WBA Middleweight title.
This coming Sunday Murata looks to make his first defense of that title as he takes on Italian veteran Emanuele Felice Blandamura (27-2, 5), himself a former European and European Union champion. Murata, for those unaware, is one of the most successful amateurs in Japanese boxing history. He won a Bronze at the 2011 World Amateur Championships, a Gold at the 2012 Olympics, 13 national titles and ran up an incredible 119-19 (89) record in the unpaid ranks. As a professional he has been on the fast track from the off, facing the then Oriental champion on his debut and never facing a fighter with a losing record as he raced into the world rankings. He hasn't always looked amazing, and his US debut against Gunnar Jackson was a very disappointing performance, but he's looked the boss in every one of his fights, including his loss. In the ring Murata is a pretty basic fighter. He's not quick, he doesn't have amazing reactions and he's not a defensive master. But what he is is very tough,very strong, very powerful and very well schooled. His jab looks like it has the power of a straight right hand from most other fighters, he applies a lot of consistent, and educated, pressure, and uses very sharp straight punches to force fighters on to the back foot. Despite being quite a basic fighter we have seen Murata change gears at times, and when he really goes into top gear he looks sensational, sadly though we have only seen that in glimpses. Although a pressure first and foremost Murata has brutal power, cuts off the ring surprisingly well and is a nightmare for most at 160lbs. He might not be truly elite level, but no one in the division will have an easy time with him. Aged 38 Blandamura is a true veteran and made his debut almost 11 years ago. During that time he has fought in and around the fringes of European level, picking up notable wins over Manuel Ernesti, Marcos Nader, Matteo Signani and Alessandro Goddi whilst coming up short against world class fighters like Billy Joe Saunders and Michel Soro, both of whom stopped Blandamura in 8 rounds. Despite those stoppages Blandamura was competitive in both bouts, and showed the boxing skills and experience to give both real issues. Sadly though those skills weren't coupled with much in terms of power and despite having success he could never get the respect of either Saunders or Soro. Blandamura has got really nice skills, skills that kept him competitive with Soro and Saunders, but at 38 his legs are slowing, his lack of power has always been an issue and so to has been his chin. Against Murata a fighter needs a chin, as mentioned Murata's jab is solid, and although Blandamura will have some moments where he can out box Murata he will always by dancing on ice. Eventually that ice will crack Murata will connect and the Italian's dream of becoming a world champion will end with his third stoppage loss. On paper this looks a good first defense for Murata but the reality is that it's a show case defense for Murata who is planning to return in the summer to face former amateur rival Esquiva Falcao in the US. If things go to plan Murata will stop Blandamura in impressive fashion and get the bout with Falcao, as long as he doesn't over-look the Italian here. |
World Title Previews
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