One day after turning 40 years of age, Gennadiy Golovkin rallied after a slow start to halt Ryota Murata in nine rounds to add the WBA Super 160lbs title to his IBF belt.
Murata enjoyed early success, but once ‘GGG’ found his rhythm, the courageous Japanese WBA title holder was pummelled and eventually saved from further punishment in the ninth round as the towel came in.
Golovkin – now unified middleweight champion – had not fought since December 2020 prior to his victory over Murata, who himself had not entered the ring since his win over Steven Butler in December 2019.
Modern great Golovkin will now turn his attention to a trilogy bout with long-time rival Canelo Alvarez, who first has to overcome WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7 in Las Vegas.