Apr 10 (NHK) - Japanese boxing star and WBA middleweight super champion Murata Ryota has lost to Gennady Golovkin of Kazakhstan in a middleweight title unification match.
About 15,000 fans gathered to watch the event in the Japanese city of Saitama on Saturday. It was Murata's first match in about 28 months. The bout had been postponed from December of last year due to the coronavirus restrictions.
Murata started out well from the first round by controlling the pace against IBF champion Golovkin. He once held three unified titles and defended a WBA title for 19 times in a row before losing it.
Golovkin began taking over with his powerful punches from the mid-rounds. Murata was finally stopped by a technical knockout in the ninth round after a hard right-handed hit.
Murata said Golovkin was superior in total ability. He added that he thought it lucky to be able to fight Golovkin in his first match in two years and four months, and voiced gratitude for his fans' support.
Golovkin praised Murata's performance as worthy of the super champion title. He thanked people who had set the great stage for the match.
