The rescheduled world middleweight title unification fight between Gennadiy Golovkin and Ryota Murata looks likely to take place in April.
Their bout was originally scheduled for the end of 2021, but greater Covid-19 travel restrictions at the time put it on the shelf.
Murata, the WBA champion was to be given home advantage in Japan and that will once again be the case when Golovkin, the IBF titlist, flies to Asia in a bid to unify the division.
Speaking on Twitter, ‘GGG’ said: “Happy to be back at training camp and to see my team. Hope that a date for the unification fight with Ryota Murata rescheduled for early April will be announced soon. I’m looking forward to travelling to Japan and to more big things in 2022.”
The 39-year-old Kazakh has not fought since December 2020 when he outclassed an overmatched Kamil Szeremeta in seven rounds. That had been the first defence of his IBF title which he won against Sergiy Derevyanchenko in a thriller one year earlier.
Golovkin who for so long dominated and struck fear into the division has been linked to a trilogy bout against Canelo Alvarez in September. The pair shared a ring for 24 rounds on two occasions with the Mexican gaining a draw and a win against his rival.
Murata has now been inactive for 26 months. The 36-year-old picked up the 16th win of his career in December 2019 against Steven Butler. Since then, Murata has been upgraded from ‘Regular’ champion to ‘Super’ by the WBA.
Images: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing and Mikey Williams/Top Rank