After Murata, GGG may meet Canelo for trilogy

TOKYO • Gennady Golovkin may be focused on his middleweight unification bout against Japan's Ryota Murata next month but fight fans are fixated on the prospects of a trilogy showdown between the Kazakh boxer and long-time ring rival Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

After nearly 16 months on the sidelines, Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 knockouts) returns to action on April 9 to face 2012 Olympic middleweight gold medallist Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) at the Saitama Super Arena.

The bout was originally scheduled for Dec 29 but was postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions in Japan.

While the fight with Murata is compelling on its own, much of the talk around the bout has centred on a Golovkin victory setting up a much more mouth-watering and money-spinning third battle with Canelo some time later this year.

Golovkin and Canelo fought to a disputed draw in 2017 and then in the rematch in 2018, the Mexican's win on points was just as controversial, as many observers thought could have gone the other way.

Canelo, whose only loss was to undefeated American Floyd Mayweather back in 2013, has since gone on to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion and he will step up in weight as he takes on Russia's undefeated Dmitry Bivol for the World Boxing Association (WBA) light heavyweight belt.

Another Golovkin-Canelo clash will draw eyeballs, but the former is not getting ahead of himself.

"We should not jump over the fight in Japan, it is a great fight and I am focused on that," the 39-year-old said. "I'll be very honest with you - I know Canelo as a person, we had two fights and it is not something that is going to be on my mind all the time, this is not something I consider mandatory or something outstanding.

"To me the situation is clear, right now I am totally focused on the fight in Japan."

It has the potential to be explosive with both men possessing impressive knockout power and coming off long layoffs.

A devastating puncher, underscored by his 36 knockouts, Golovkin, who will turn 40 the day before the fight, has never been knocked down.

Murata has ended 13 of his 18 professional fights via knockout but the 36-year-old could also have plenty of ring rust with his last bout coming more than two years ago.

Golovkin, however, insisted that he will not underestimate his opponent.

"He is a former Olympic champion, he is the current WBA super champion, he is the hero of his country, he represents Japanese values, Japanese traditions and he is working with an outstanding promoter," said the 2004 Athens Games silver medallist, who will be putting his International Boxing Federation belt on the line.

"The fights in Japan are always unpredictable - another reason that makes the fight more interesting."

REUTERS