Murata to defend WBA 160lb belt against Brant in US

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Japanese national hero, 2012 Olympic gold medalist and WBA middleweight champ Ryota Murata (14-1, 11 KOs) will invade Las Vegas to defend his belt against mandatory contender Rob Brant (23-1, 16 KOs) on October 20. It was publicly announced by Teiken Promotions yesterday.

Murata, 32, was once slated to face unbeaten Irish James Quigley on the same fight date, but the WBA’s order for a mandatory defense eventually changed the challenger after reportedly tough negotiations.

Murata confidently said, “I wish to fight the winner of the GGG-Canelo II winner. It will depend on my performance against Brant. I’d like to pave the way to realize my ultimate goal of the unification bout.”

Should it take place at the Tokyo Dome, as rumored, it will be the first boxing event since Mike Tyson forfeited his belt to unheralded James Buster Douglas in 1990. For Murata, it will be his third opportunity to fight in Las Vegas, but the very first to put his world belt on the line there.

The very highly sensational event for our aficionados will be exclusively shown here in Japan by up and coming sports channel DAZN here.

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