Ryota Murata could be in line for a big fight against one of DAZN’s tentpole middleweights in Canelo Alvarez or Gennadiy Golovkin in 2020.
DAZN’s great appetite for subscribers may net Ryota Murata a big fight against either Gennadiy Golovkin or Canelo Alvarez in 2020.
According to a Yahoo! Japan report, DAZN is pushing for a matchup that pits one of their flagship fighters against the Japanese middleweight star because of stalled subscriber growth in its U.S. market.
The report’s sources also say that DAZN did not have the surge that they expected in Alvarez’s last fight in November, against Sergey Kovalev.
All of which makes both Golovkin and Alvarez realistic possibilities next year for the 33-year-old Murata, perhaps the most active high-profile professional boxer in Japan.
DAZN, which has exclusive rights to Golovkin and Alvarez, also has a relationship with Murata. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist fought for DAZN Japan one time, an upset loss to Rob Brant last year.
DAZN’s stalled growth in the U.S. could be a boon to Ryota Murata in Japan. Murata is pictured celebrating his victory over Steve Butler. AP Photo / Toru Takahashi
Murata is coming off a fifth-round technical knockout of Steven Butler last week. The victory capped a marked turnaround for Murata, who began the year by avenging his loss to Brandt. Afterward, his promoters – Teiken’s Akihiko Honda and Top Rank’s Bob Arum – both expressed their desire to see Murata fight either Golovkin or Alvarez in 2020, ideally before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Yahoo! Japan also reported that Golden Boy executive Roberto Diaz said Murata is definitely on the table for Alvarez. And Canelo said during the DAZN streaming of the Andy Ruiz-Anthony Joshua rematch in Saudi Arabia that he would consider fighting in Japan.
Should the fight happen, it would most likely take place at 168. An Alvarez-Murata fight at the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome could rival a fight between Alvarez and either Billy Joe Saunders or Callum Smith in England.
Ryota Murata is back to his winning ways after scoring a fifth-round TKO of Canadian middleweight Steven Butler earlier today in Japan.
Japanese middleweight contender Ryota Murata made short work of Steven Butler, stopping the Canadian in the fifth round today in Yokohama, Japan.
Also on the card, former four-division titleholder Roman Gonzalez shook off the rust from a 15-month layoff to blow past Diomel Diocos in two rounds in a scheduled eight-round bantamweight contest..
Murata, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, dropped Butler with a hard left hook at the end of the final round, prompting referee Rafael Ramos to wave off the fight at 2:45.
The win caps a marked turnaround for the 33-year-old Murata, who suffered a wide decision loss to Rob Brant last year but avenged the loss with a second round knockout in a rematch in July.
“I felt good while I was in the room waiting to come out, and I thought I’d be able to end it quickly,” Murata (16-2, 13 knockouts) said.
Ryota Murata had no problem with Steven Butler on Monday. We’ll see how he does when he faces one of the big boys of the middleweight division. Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP via Getty Images
The gulf in talent was plainly evident. Butler, 24, was fighting just for the second time outside of Canada and had suffered a knockout loss to countryman Brandon Cook in 2017. Early on, Butler (28-2-1, 24 KOs) was willing to trade and had some success targeting the body. But before long, Murata’s superiority began to show as he started putting together his combinations, whipping Butler’s head back with straight rights.
“Butler packed more of a punch than I expected,” Murata said. “I caught him a couple of times with my right. It’s been a turbulent year, but I was ultimately able to fight on my own terms.”
Next year could see Murata involved in a major fight, possibly against the likes of Canleo Alvarez or Gennadiy Golovkin. Recently, Alvarez spoke of his desire to fight in Japan, while talk of a Golovkin-Murata matchup has circulated for a few years.
Gonzalez (48-2, 40 KOs) showcased his typical offensive bravura, tagging Diocis (14-6-4, 4 KOs) with a flurry of fluid combinations before referee Yuki Fukuchi waved the bout off at 2:20 of the second round.
Though clearly past his prime, Gonzalez, 32, appears capable of making another run at the top contenders of the 115-pound division. That includes former opponents Juan Francisco Estrada and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, as well as Khalid Yafai.
In other preliminary bouts, Kenshiro Teraji (17-0, 10 KOs) retained his junior flyweight title with a fourth-round technical knockout of Randy Petalcorin (31-4-1, 23 KOs).
After a tentative start, Teraji began brutalizing Petalcorin’s body in Round 3, dropping the Filipino three times. Teraji dropped Petalcorin once more in Round 4 with a body shot combination, prompting referee Frank Garza to stop it at 1:08. Teraji has made seven successful defenses of his title.
And South Africa’s Moruti Mthalane (39-2, 26 KOs) staved off the always game Akira Yaegashi (28-7, 16 KOs) before stopping the Japanese contender in the ninth round to retain his flyweight title.
Yaegashi had some moments in the mid rounds, but the durable Mthalane turned it up late, hurting Yaegashi in Round 8 with a left hand to the body. In Round 9, Mthalane finished the job, unloading a heap of punches while Yaegashi lay on the ropes. Referee Mario Gonzalez had seen enough at that point, halting the contest at 2:54 of the ninth.
Canelo Alvarez told DAZN during Ruiz-Joshua II that he would be willing fight in Saudi Arabia, England or Japan in the near future.
Boxing’s biggest cash cow may be taking his show on the road.
Two-division titleholder Canelo Alvarez was in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia to support countryman Andy Ruiz Jr. in his highly anticipated heavyweight rematch against Anthony Joshua, who wound up winning a wide decision to regain his heavyweight titles.
Alvarez, who is coming off a 11th round knockout of Sergey Kovalev to win a light heavyweight title, gave an interview during the DAZN broadcast discussing his plans. He, for one, is not opposed to staging his next fight in the Arabian desert.
“Of course, why not?” Alvarez said. “It’s an excellent opportunity. Of course, I can see myself fighting anywhere in the world.”
Alvarez has fought exclusively in North America, with the majority of his fights taking place in Las Vegas. He has also fought in San Antonio and New York City.
Alvarez continued: “I can see myself fighting here (Saudi Arabia), fighting in Japan, in England. Believe me, this is something. What a moment it would be for my career to fight anywhere in the world for the right opportunity.”
In Japan, Alvarez has a potentially lucrative matchup against domestic middleweight star Ryota Murata. Previously, there were talks about Alvarez’s arch-nemesis Gennadiy Golovkin facing Murata at the Tokyo Dome but nothing ever materialized. An Alvarez-Murata fight would be even bigger.
In England, there are options with super middleweights Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders, although the former is probably a more marketable fight. Smith’s brain trust have been vocal about facing Alvarez.
