Sports

Ryota Murata Says His Boxing Career is Over

Ten months after his loss to Gennadiy Golovkin, former WBA middleweight champion Ryota Murata announces that he has no plans to fight again.

Published

1 year ago

February 23, 2023

Ed Odeven

Ryota Murata faces Gennadiy Golovkin in a middleweight title unification fight on April 9, 2022, at Saitama Super Arena. (ⒸSANKEI)

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Former WBA middleweight champion Ryota Murata told reporters on Wednesday, February 22 that he has thrown his final punch as a professional boxer.

In Murata's last bout, held on April 9, 2022, Kazakh opponent Gennadiy Golovkin, the IBF champion, earned a ninth-round technical knockout at Saitama Super Arena. With the win, Golovkin seized Murata's WBA title belt.

The 37-year-old Murata revealed that in his mind he has retired.

"Inside my head I'm thinking, 'that was my last [fight],' " Murata was quoted as saying by Kyodo News. "I just haven't been able to announce it [until now], but that's how I'm thinking personally."

The fight was selected by boxing journalists as the Bout of the Year for the annual awards ceremony organized by the Japan Boxing Commission. The ceremony, where Murata made his comments on Wednesday, was held at a Tokyo hotel.

Murata (16-3, 13 knockouts) hasn't trained since the fight, Boxing News reported.

In that fight, Murata earned the respect of his superstar opponent.

"Murata is a true warrior who fought to the very end," Golovkin said after the fight. "He is an Olympic champion, a middleweight champion, and despite what took place in front of his fans, we are extremely happy to have organized this event in Japan."

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Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and Twitter ＠ed_odeven.