Boxing: Golovkin's blockbuster Canelo trilogy at stake in Murata showdown

TOKYO, Japan -- Middleweight great Gennady Golovkin returns to the ring for the first time in 16 months on Saturday, where victory against Japan's Ryota Murata could set up a long-awaited third fight against Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.

IBF champion "GGG" Golovkin (41-1-1, with 36 KOs) will face Murata (16-2), who holds the WBA version of the title, in a unification fight at Saitama, north of Tokyo.

The hard-hitting Kazakh has been hailed as the biggest name to enter a ring in Japan since heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, who was knocked out in Tokyo by 40-1 underdog James "Buster" Douglas in one of boxing's biggest upsets in 1990.

The prize at stake for Golovkin is a potential third crack at pound-for-pound king Alvarez in a blockbuster trilogy fight later this year, having pushed the Mexican all the way in two previous epic encounters.

If the pair, who appear to harbor genuine mutual animosity, remain unbeaten in their upcoming fights, then a September trilogy fight could smash box office and pay-per-view records.

The all-conquering Alvarez, having last year unified the four super-middleweight belts in just 11 months, will move up to light-heavyweight to challenge undefeated WBA champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7.

The veteran Golovkin, who turns 40 on Friday, has never beaten his Mexican nemesis.

Their first fight, in September 2017, saw Golovkin give an inspired performance, with many believing he had won, only for the judges to declare the bout a split draw.

The rematch eight months later was postponed after Alvarez tested positive for a banned substance. 

- 'Place in boxing history' -

When it eventually took place in September 2018, Alvarez battled to victory by majority decision after a pulsating contest.

Golovkin said his rivalry with Alvarez was not "the only thing that characterizes my career" in a recent interview with Bleacher Report, pointing to his 21 world title defenses -- a middleweight record.

"If I'm going to approach the third fight with Canelo, it'll certainly be with different thoughts and not with the idea of righting any wrongs," he told broadcaster DAZN, adding he was not "bothered by the results in the first two fights".

"I'm not in boxing to prove anything to anybody."

Having been out of action since December 2020, when he stopped Poland's Kamil Szeremeta in the seventh round, 'GGG' will need to remind the world that his power and skill are undiminished when he faces 2012 Olympic gold medalist Murata.

Murata (16-2) is even more rusty -- his last appearance was a successful defense of the WBA 'regular' world title belt against Canada's Steven Butler in Yokohama in December 2019.

Murata was then installed as WBA 'super' champion in 2020, the sanctioning body's premier belt, after Alvarez vacated the crown to move up in weight.

The 36-year-old Murata, who became a household name in Japan after winning Olympic gold, said his fight with Golovkin would decide his "place in the middleweight division and boxing history".

"My entire amateur and professional boxing career has been a preparation for this fight against Gennady Golovkin," he said when the fight was announced.

The bout had originally been scheduled for December last year but was postponed because of coronavirus travel restrictions.

Agence France-Presse

Alvarez beats Jacobs to unify middleweight world titles

LAS VEGAS – Mexican Saul "Canelo" Alvarez earned a unanimous decision over Daniel Jacobs in a fight that pitted two of the world's top middleweights against each other with three world titles on the line on Saturday (Sunday Manila time).

Alvarez kept his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association titles and seized Jacobs' International Boxing Federation belt in a bout that marked the Mexican's return to the 160-pound division.

Alvarez won on all three judges’ scorecards, with two having it 115-113 and the other 116-112.

Since losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013, Alvarez has gone 10-0 with one draw with five knockouts.

source: philstar.com

Alvarez wins narrow decision for middleweight title

LAS VEGAS — Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin fought 24 rounds in the space of a year, with little to pick between them.

When the scorecards were totaled Saturday night (Sunday in Manila), though, there was a new middleweight champion of the world — but not by much.

Alvarez won the 160-pound titles held by Golovkin by the narrowest of margins, taking a majority decision to hand the longtime champion his first loss as a pro.

Two judges gave Alvarez the final round, allowing him to pull out the win.

A year after the two fought to a draw, the second fight was almost as close. There were no knockdowns, but the action was spirited throughout as the two battled to the final bell before a frenzied crowd at the T-Mobile Arena.

Two judges favored Alvarez 115-113, while a third had it 114-114. The AP scored it 114-114.

"He's a great fighter but I'm a great fighter and I showed it tonight," Alvarez said.

The two fighters switched roles from their first fight, with Triple G trying to counter Alvarez and the Mexican fighter coming forward much of the fight. Both landed well to the head and Golovkin (38-1-1) controlled some rounds with his jab though neither were ever in any trouble of going down.

The fight was a rematch of a draw last September that left neither fighter satisfied. This time it was Golovkin who was upset, and he stormed out of the ring without talking.

"I can't complain, that's what we have the judges for," said Abel Sanchez, Golovkin's trainer.

Ringside punch stats showed a close fight, though they favored Golovkin by a small margin. Golovkin was credited with landing 234 of 879 punches while Alvarez (50-1-2) landed 203 of 622.

Almost immediately there was talk of a third fight between two middleweights who now know each other well.

"If the people want us to do it again let's do it again," Alvarez said. "For now I'm going to enjoy it with my family."

Alvarez seemed to take control of the fight in the middle rounds, but Triple G came on strong in the final few rounds to make it as close as it could be. Golovkin landed several big punches to start the 12th round but still lost it on the two scorecards that ended up favoring Alvarez.

Both fighters were cut with Alvarez having one over his left eye and Golovkin cut over the right eye.

It was the first loss in 40 fights for Golovkin, the fearsome puncher from Kazakhstan who held portions of the middleweight title for seven years. And it came at the hands of the red-headed Alvarez, a Mexican star whose positive test for clenbuterol forced the rematch to be postponed from May.

They put on another show before a roaring crowd of 21,965, who crowded into the arena on the Las Vegas Strip with high anticipation in the biggest fight of the year.

Most of the crowd on Mexican Independence Day weekend favored Alvarez, who seemed to control much of the pace of the fight even while taking some sharp shots to the head. Though Golovkin has a reputation as a knockout artist, he never seemed to hurt Alvarez, who credited his fight plan with the win.

"I showed my victory with facts," Alvarez said. "He was the one who was backing up. It was a clear victory."

Alvarez was guaranteed $5 million to $4 million for Golovkin, though both fighters were expected to make many millions more from the biggest pay-per-view in boxing so far this year.

source: philstar.com