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By: Hans Themistode
For the most part, many are already envisioning a third showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin.
The two are tentatively scheduled to face one another in September, provided of course, both sides are successful in their upcoming bouts. In the case of Alvarez, the newly crowned undisputed super middleweight titlist will abandon his 168-pound throne as he attempts to truncate the world title reign of WBA light heavyweight champion, Dmitry Bivol.
As for Golovkin, the current IBF middleweight belt holder will take on fellow champion, Ryota Murata. Golovkin will brazenly travel to Murata’s native land at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan on April 9th.
While Golovkin is tabbed as a healthy favorite, the future Hall of Famer is anxious to strip Murata of his championship status before moving on to a showdown against Alvarez. However, in the mind of Bob Arum, it wouldn’t be shocking if Murata threw a monkey wrench in Golovkin’s plans.
“I would not be surprised if, in April, Murata beats Golovkin,” said Arum during an interview with Fight Hub TV.
Even with Murata having the public backing of Arum, he’ll face several disadvantages on the night. The first obstacle in Murata’s way will be his lack of experience against high-level opponents. In addition to that, Murata has spent the better part of the past two and a half years sequestered on the sidelines. Presently, the WBA titlist was last seen in the ring on December 23rd, 2019, against Steven Butler, scoring a fifth-round knockout win.
Ultimately, however, despite the ring rust, Arum believes that the former Olympic gold medalist could be on the verge of nabbing the biggest win of his career. In large part, Arum views the soon-to-be 40-year-old Golovkin’s age as a considerable disadvantage. Also, the longtime promoter has been unimpressed with his recent performances.
Since suffering the lone blemish of his career at the hands of Alvarez in 2018, Golovkin has gone on to win three consecutive bouts. In his most recent walk to the ring, Golovkin bulldozed journeyman Kamil Szeremeta, dropping his man four separate times before picking up the stoppage victory in the seventh.
Regardless of Golovkin’s recent form, nonetheless, Arum is somewhat dubious that he’ll continue his current streak. While he refrained from picking Murata outright, Arum is steadfast in his belief that Murata could become the unmovable object standing in the way of Golovkin and his quest to challenge Alvarez once again.
“Remember, Golovkin has a lot of wear on him. He’s 40-years-old, and Murata is a pretty big punching guy. I wouldn’t be surprised if Golovkin lost that fight to Murata.”
