IBF middleweight king Gennadiy Golovkin and WBA Super champion Ryota Murata have agreed in principle to face one another in a 160lbs unification clash in Tokyo on December 28, live on DAZN.
The rival champions will both have one further fight in the interim, possibly on the same card, according to Mike Coppinger of The Athletic.
Kazakh Golovkin is now 39 and still in pursuit of a third meeting with old nemesis Canelo Alvarez, with whom he has previously drawn and lost on the cards in close encounters. The Mexican superstar says that clash could only take place at 168lbs after he has fully unified the super-middleweight division against IBF champion Caleb Plant in September.
Murata, who was promoted from Regular to Super champion by the WBA in January, represents a decent Plan B in the meantime. The London 2012 Olympic Gold Medallist is the biggest boxing star in his native Japan, ahead of even Naoya Inoue.