Gennadiy Golovkin and Ryota Murata look to shake off the ring rust on Saturday, April 9. Here’s how oddsmakers see the fight playing out.
The middleweight division is fractured now, but the odds favor Gennadiy Golovkin taking control of the division on April 9 when he meets Ryota Murata in a title unification bout.
Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) is the reigning IBF middleweight champion, and Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) is the WBA champion. Golovkin’s body of work has him as the favorite.
Wynnbet.com has Golovkin at -550 odds and Murata at +375. Murata is nearly a 4-1 underdog, but those odds should tighten up closer to fight day.
Golovkin held at least a portion of the middleweight title from 2010-2018. He fought Canelo Alvarez to a split draw in 2017 and lost the 2018 rematch via majority decision.
Golovkin became a champion again in 2019, beating Sergiy Derevyanchenko by unanimous decision in 2019 to win the vacant IBF and IBO titles.
Watch the middleweight unification bout between Gennadiy Golovkin and Ryota Murata on Saturday, April 9, at 5:10 a.m. ET on DAZN
The odds are closer between Golovkin and Murata due to question marks surrounding Golvkin’s age. He turns 40 years old on April 8.
Before the loss to Alvarez, Golovkin looked nearly unbeatable. Many thought he beat Alvarez in their first fight, but he lacked the same energy in their rematch.
Golovkin had a hard time with Derevyanchenko and didn’t face much of a challenge in his other two fights post-Alvarez against Steve Rolls and Kamil Szeremeta. GGG stopped both with relative ease.
Murata is no spring chicken at 36 years old, but he’s younger than Golovkin. He sports an impressive 72 percent KO rating but has never fought anyone like Golovkin.
Murata won the vacant WBA title in 2017 by avenging a loss to Hassan N’Dam. He dropped the belt to Rob Brant via decision but outpointed Brant in the rematch to regain the title.
Golovkin vs. Murata takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, Murata’s home country. The youth and venue advantage help slim down the odds against Murata.
However, Murata’s résumé is concerning. It’s hard to believe that a fighter that lost to N’Dam and Brant could possibly defeat Golovkin.
Anything can happen in boxing, but an aged Golovkin is likely still many levels ahead of Murata. Murata has never been stopped, but Golovkin is a power puncher that usually puts away B-level fighters.