Golovkin-Murata unification fight postponed due spread of Omicron variant

Dec 03, 2021

The middleweight world title unification fight between Gennadiy Golovkin and Ryota Murata has been postponed.

The card was scheduled to take place on Dec. 29 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and headline a DAZN card, the first of GGG’s reworked exclusive deal with the sports streaming service.

However, on Thursday night, the card was called off due to the global spread of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19. The Japanese government has banned foreigners from entering the country without a special permit, which fight organizers were unable to obtain.

Teiken Promotions and GGG Promotions said a new date for the fight, which had been in the works for months before being officially announced in mid-November, is being explored.

“I am deeply disappointed that this fight has been postponed but the health and safety of the public must always be the priority,” Golovkin said in a statement. “I look forward to returning to the ring against Ryota as soon as possible.”

The 39-year-old Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs), a Kazakhstan native fighting out of Santa Monica, California, was to make the second defense of the vacant IBF belt he won by disputed decision against Sergiy Derevyanchenko in brutal slugfest in October 2019. GGG made his fist defense 14 months later by one-sided seventh-round knockout of mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta, whom he knocked down four times, last December, but has not fought since.

Golovkin’s current title reign followed a dominating eight-year title run in which he tied Bernard Hopkins for the all-time middleweight division record with 20 consecutive defenses before losing his unified title by controversial majority decision to Canelo Alvarez in September 2018 in a rematch of their even more disputed split draw in September 2017 that most saw Golovkin winning.

Two-time WBA titlist Murata (16-2, 13 KOs), 35, who became a Japanese national hero when he won a 2012 Olympic gold medal, regained the belt by second-round knockout of Rob Brant in their July 2019 rematch. Murata defended the belt by fifth-round knockout of Steven Butler in December 2019 and was to end a two-year layoff.

Also postponed along with the main event was the rest of the card, which was to have included WBO flyweight titlist Junto Nakatani (22-0, 17 KOs), 23, of Japan, making his second title defense against Cristian Gonzalez (14-1, 4 KOs), 22, of Mexico, and an all-Japanese 12-round lightweight bout between Shuichiro Yoshino (14-0, 11 KOs) and former junior lightweight world titlist Masayuki Ito (27-3-1, 15 KOs).

On Friday, the junior bantamweight title unification fight between IBF titlist Jerwin Ancajas (33-1-2, 22 KOs), 29, a southpaw from the Philippines, and WBO counterpart Kazuto Ioka (27-2, 15 KOs), 32, a four-division titlist from Tokyo, which was scheduled for Dec. 31 at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, was also called off due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

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Golovkin-Murata unification fight postponed due spread of Omicron variant

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