Former World Boxing Association middleweight ‘’super’’ champion Ryota Murata of Teiken Boxing Gym said after his loss to International Boxing Federation middleweight champion Gennadiy Gennadyevich Golovkin of Kazakhstan in the title unification fight on Apr. 9 in Saitama Prefecture that he was surprised at Golovkin’s technique rather than his strength.

The 36-year-old Murata was stopped in the ninth round of the scheduled 12-rounder at Saitama Super Arena by a barrage of left-right combinations to the head by Golovkin, popularly known as GGG.

Murata said, ‘’Before I fought Golovkin, I had thought he would deck his opponents with power. But I now feel he is skillful more so than I had expected. He hit me where my guard could not block his punches (in-between points for want of better terms). In other words, he has a high-quality technique and perfection level. I felt the difference in terms of the length and breadth of boxing techniques.

Murata continued, ‘’In the second and third rounds, I thought he was hurt by my body shots. But Mr. Golovkin was good at avoiding my straight rights directly. I felt as if my punches had been completely ineffective. That kind of technique is responsible for Mr. Golovkin being able to take a punch.’’

‘’I was itching to land one more punch, one more punch. But I had a feeling of not being able to land my right. When I changed to left hooks. He avoided being hit directly by wiggling his waist. He is several notches above me in this respect. I think the difference of experience told on me.’’

Asked about his damage from the middle round of the fight, Murata said, ‘’I thought I would be able to cope with his punching power per se with my guard, But the angle or angles he chose were so wide-ranging that the accumulation of my damage culminated in my being stopped. I deeply realized the difference of class.’’

Murata almost moved to tears when he recalled the scene when Teiken gym head Akihiko Honda told him in the morning, ‘’You should enjoy the fight in a good sense.’’

‘I was really happy to hear his comments. Ever since I turned professional, I had always felt that I had to win by all means. But Mr. Honda’s comments on the day of the fight made me feel relaxed,’’ said Murata who wiped out tears.