Gennadiy Golovkin made weight on his birthday Friday.
The now-40-year-old, looking fit and strong, came in at the middleweight limit of 160 pounds for his title-unification bout with Ryota Murata on Saturday in Saitama, Japan (DAZN).
Murata also weighed 160.
Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) has fought only once in 2½ years, a seventh-round knockout of Kamil Szeremeta in the first defense of his IBF title in December 2020.
Triple-G had won the vacant title by narrowly outpointing Sergey Derevyanchenko in October 2019.
If Golovkin beats Murata (16-2, 13 KOs), he’s expected to face Canelo Alvarez for a third time in September. Alvarez is scheduled to challenge 175-pound champ Dmitry Bivol on May 7.
Murata, a resident of Tokyo, had held a secondary WBA title but was elevated to “super” champion last year. He also hasn’t been active. His most-recent fight was in December 2019, when stopped Steven Butler in five rounds.
Golovkin has been fighting professionally for 16 years.
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