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Fight Week: Gennadiy Golovkin, Ryan Garcia in action on busy Saturday

Michael Rosenthal
·6 min read

FIGHT WEEK

Gennadiy Golovkin will take on Ryota Murata, Ryan Garcia will make his return, and Erickson Lubin and Sebastian Fundora will face off on a busy weekend.

Gennadiy Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) vs. Ryota Murata (16-2, 13 KOs)

  • When: Saturday, April 9

  • Time: 5 a.m. ET / 2 a.m. PT

  • Where: Super Arena, Saitama, Japan

  • TV/Stream: DAZN

  • Division: Middleweight

  • Rounds: 12

  • At stake: Golovkin’s IBF and Murata’s WBA titles

  • Pound-for-pound ranking: Golovkin No. 9

  • Odds: Golovkin 5-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)

  • Also on the card: Shuichiro Yoshino vs. Masayuki Ito, lightweights; Junto Nakatani vs. Ryota Yamauchi, flyweights (for Nakatani’s WBO title)

  • Prediction: Golovkin KO 8

  • Background: Golovkin turns 40 on the day before he meets Murata but remains a major player in the sport. The showdown on Murata’s home turf will unify two of the four major middleweight titles. And if Triple-G wins, as he’s expected to do, a third bout with rival Canelo Alvarez could come on September 17. Golovkin began this, his second reign as a 160-pound champion by outpointing Sergey Derevyanchenko for the vacant title in October 2019 and successfully defended it by stopping Kamil Szeremeta in December 2020, his most-recent fight. Alvarez is scheduled to challenge light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol on May 7. The outcome of that fight might not have a bearing on whether the Mexican star faces Golovkin next. Triple-G and Alvarez fought to a disputed draw in their first fight (2017) and Alvarez won a close decision in the rematch (2018). Of course, if Murata wins on Saturday, he would join the long list of potential opponents for Alvarez. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist was elevated to WBA “super” champion after Alvarez vacated the title. He last fought in December 2019, when he stopped Steven Butler in five rounds. He will have been out of the ring for more than two years.

Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) vs. Emmanuel Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs)

  • When: Saturday, April 9

  • Time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT

  • Where: Alamodome, San Antonio

  • TV/Stream: DAZN

  • Division: Lightweight

  • Rounds: 12

  • At stake: No major titles

  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None

  • Odds: Garcia 11½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)

  • Also on the card: Marlen Esparza vs. Naoko Fujioka, flyweights (for Esparza’s WBC and Fujioka’s WBA titles: Gabriel Rosado vs. Shane Mosley Jr., super middleweights; George Rincon vs. Alejandro Frias, junior welterweights

  • Prediction: Garcia KO 5

  • Background: The gifted, hard-punching Garcia is coming off his most sensational performance, one in which he got up from a knockdown to stop former Olympic champion Luke Campbell with a single body shot in the seventh round 15 months ago. He then teased potential fights against some of the biggest names in the sport only to take time off to tend to his mental health. Assuming he wins on Saturday – and he’s a significant favorite – one of the sport’s brightest young stars will be in a strong position to face undisputed champion George Kambosos or one of the other top lightweights next. He left trainer Eddy Reynoso and joined forces with Joe Goossen during his hiatus. Tagoe is a solid, experienced opponent. The Ghanaian lost his pro debut but has won every fight since, including a majority decision over Mason Menard in November 2020. That was his most-recent fight, meaning he will have been inactive a few months longer than Garcia. This will be the native of Accra’s third fight in the United States.

Erickson Lubin (24-1, 17 KOs) vs. Sebastian Fundora (18-0-1, 12 KOs)

  • When: Saturday, April 9

  • Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT

  • Where: Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Las Vegas

  • TV/Stream: Showtime

  • Division: Junior middleweight

  • Rounds: 12

  • At stake: No major titles

  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None

  • Odds: Even (average of multiple outlets)

  • Also on the card: Tony Harrison vs. Sergio Garcia, junior middleweights; Kevin Salgado vs. Bryant Perrella, junior middleweights

  • Prediction: Lubin UD

  • Background: The stakes are high in this fight, as the winner will have a good chance to face the winner of the May 14 Jermell Charlo-Brian Castano rematch for the undisputed championship. Lubin was stopped by Charlo in one round in 2017 but the talented Floridian has won six consecutive fights since to re-establish himself as one of the best in the division. That run includes victories over Ishe Smith, Nathaniel Gallimore, Terrell Gausha and, last June, former titleholder Jeison Rosario. Fundora is one of the sport’s most-noted oddities – he’s a 6-foot-6 154-pounder – but he has demonstrated repeatedly that he can fight, which is why he’s nearing a title shot. The Southern Californian is 5-0 since drawing with capable Jamontay Clark in August 2019, including victories over Gallimore and Sergio Garcia. The Garcia fight took place this past December.

Mikaela Mayer (16-0, 5 KOs) vs. Jennifer Han (18-4-1, 1 KOs)

  • When: Saturday, April 9

  • Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT

  • Where: The Hangar, Costa Mesa, California

  • TV/Stream: ESPN, ESPN+

  • Division: Junior lightweight

  • Rounds: 10 (two-minute rounds)

  • At stake: Mayer’s IBF and WBO titles

  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None

  • Odds: Mayer 3½-1 favorite

  • Also on the card: Giovani Santillan vs. Jeovanis Barraza, welterweights; Jason Maloney vs. Francisco Pedroza, bantamweights; Andrew Moloney vs. Gilberto Mendoza, junior bantamweights

  • Prediction: Mayer UD

  • Background: Mayer, a 2016 U.S. Olympian, has established herself as one of the top female fighters in the world. She won the vacant WBO title by nearly shutting out Ewa Brodnicka in October 2020, successfully defended it by outpointing Erica Farias eight months later and then adding the IBF belt to her collection by decisioning Maiva Hamadouche in a taxing brawl this past November. If Mayer beats Han, she’ll have in her sights the winner of a tentative bout between fellow titleholders Terri Harper (WBC) and Hyun Mi Choi (WBA) for all-four major belts. Mayer is also a candidate to face the winner of the April 30 showdown between lightweight titleholder Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. Han is coming off a shutout loss to Taylor in September, her first setback since 2014. The 38-year-old Texan had been fighting at 126 before moving up to 135 for her last two fights. She’ll now move back down to 130, a weight at which she fought early in her career.

Also fighting this week:

FRIDAY, APRIL 8

  • Damian Sosa vs Jesus Vegas, junior middleweights, Tijuana Mexico (FITE).

  • Wilfredo Mendez Kenny Cano, junior flyweights, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Shuan Boxing YouTube).

SATURDAY, APRIL 9

  • Dina Thorslund Niorkis Carreno, bantamweights (for Thorslund’s WBO title) (No U.S. TV).