Gennadiy Golovkin acknowledges that his advancing years may start to give him trouble as he prepares for Ryoto Murata on Saturday in Japan, which you can watch on DAZN (check your region for availability).
GGG has barely seen action since October 2019, when he fought Sergiy Derevyanchenko in an exhausting contest. He followed that up with a seven-round victory over Kamil Szeremeta, with the Polish fighter his IBF mandatory challenger in December 2020. Golovkin had been due to fight fellow champion WBA belt holder Murata last year, but the coronavirus pandemic forced the bout to be rescheduled.
When they meet on April 9, Golovkin will be a day into his forties, with the Kazakhstani fighter believing he is in excellent shape.
“It’s difficult to say whether I feel refreshed without comparing it to any other conditions,” Golovkin said to BoxingScene.com.
“But I would say that I feel great at my age. I’m almost 40. I’ve never been 40 before, so I don’t know how it should be. But the way I feel right now, it’s great.”
However, he admitted he had not considered that his age might become a problem.
“I just realized that it’s not even normal,” he said.
“This might be one of my issues. I don’t feel any outside pressure. I don’t pay any attention to that, but I’m fully cognizant of my situation. I’m in touch with reality. I don’t lie to myself. I don’t have any delusions. I fully realize my abilities, and I continue [my career] because I can.”
Should he succeed in unifying the division in April, he is expected to take on Canelo Alvarez for his trilogy rematch. With Canelo planning a 175lb bout in May, the pair will meet a super middleweight, which could see all four of the 168lbs on the line if the Mexican is able to retain them without contesting the titles for five more months.