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 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

Golovkin makes short work of Martirosyan with 2nd round KO

CARSON, California — Gennady Golovkin said his second-round knockout of Vanes Martirosyan wasn’t intended to send a message to Canelo Alvarez.

Instead, it was the last-minute replacement for Alvarez who verbally tagged the Mexican superstar on Cinco de Mayo.

“I see why he’s eating that kind of meat. I see why he’s trying to get that extra edge,” said Martirosyan, referencing Alvarez’s failed drug test in March.

Golovkin won his 20th consecutive middleweight title defense by sending Martirosyan down at 1:53 of the second round on Saturday night (Sunday in Manila).

Showing he has not lost any of his devastating power after his previous two fights ended in decisions, Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) tied Bernard Hopkins’ record for middleweight title defenses with staggering fury.

After being tagged with a strong three-punch combination from Martirosyan (36-4-1) late in the first round, Golovkin responded with a devastating charge in the second. He started the eight-punch onslaught with a short left and pounced on the damaged Martirosyan, finally dropping him with two powerful lefts.

Martirosyan compared the sequence to being hit by a truck immediately after the fight, then likened Golovkin’s punches to being hit by a train in the press conference.

“Every punch was the same power and that surprised me,” Martirosyan said. “Thirty-six years old, and he’s still fighting like that. He is the real deal.”

The fight came together in hectic fashion after Golovkin’s rematch with Alavarez fell apart. Golovkin and Alvarez fought to a draw last September and were set to meet again in Las Vegas on the Mexican holiday before Alvarez was suspended for six months by the Nevada Athletic Commission in April after testing positive for clenbuterol.
Alvarez has blamed the positive test on tainted Mexican beef, which led to Martirosyan’s quip.

With the lucrative fight against Alvarez scuttled until this fall at the earliest, Golovkin was eventually able to put together a replacement bout in Southern California, where he built up a strong following with a series of title defenses at StubHub Center and the Forum. Despite short notice and a modest card, Golovkin drew a crowd of 7,837 and the biggest gate receipts for boxing at StubHub Center.

Golovkin made it worth their while, making an extended entrance by parading around the converted tennis court to the riff from the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.”

The card also featured the first women’s fight on HBO in the cable network’s 45-year history of broadcasting boxing, as undisputed welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus (33-0) remained undefeated with a unanimous decision over Kali Reis (13-7-1).

Braekhus won 97-92, 96-93 and 96-93 on the three scorecards despite being knocked down to one knee by a hard right from Reis in the seventh round. Reis nearly dropped Braekhus again in the eighth with another hard right, and the crowd booed when the result was announced after Reis’ late charge.

UFC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg was in attendance and confirmed her interest in boxing against Braekhus, adding to a night where it was hard not to focus on the specter of fights that could have been and could still happen.

Focus on a rematch with Alvarez returned to the forefront immediately after Golovkin leveled Martirosyan.

Golovkin said after the fight he would take on all comers, including Alvarez. His attitude did not change in the subsequent press conference.

“Everybody want second fight, second step. Of course, I want to,” Golovkin said. “It’s very important for me and boxing people, for everything. Just I’m ready. Let’s do it. September.”

Besides his joke, Martirosyan had a prediction for how a second Golovkin-Alvarez fight might play out, especially if Alvarez feels the pressure to meet the demanding standards of Mexican boxing fans and go toe-to-toe with Golovkin after being responsible for the fight being scuttled in May.

“I think if Canelo stayed in front of Gennady, he would get knocked out cold,” Martirosyan said.

source: philstar.com