is a Japanese

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. He held the

WBA (Super) The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

title between January 2021 and April 2022, he also held the WBA (Regular) title twice between 2017 and January 2021. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

, he won a silver medal at the 2011 World Championships, and gold the following year at the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. As of July 2021, he is ranked as the world's fifth best active middleweight by '' The Ring.''

Amateur career

Murata started boxing in the first grade of junior high school. His then trainer was Hiroaki Takami who competed at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

. Two years later, he started attending Shinko Boxing Gym in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

from his home in Nara City. He was trained under the former Japanese

super lightweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions ...

champion Hiromu Kuwata at that gym for one year. He proceeded to Minami-Kyoto High School and was coached there by Maekawa Takemoto, who served as the coach of the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. Murata went on to capture five national titles. Takemoto died in 2010, at the age of 50. However, after his admission to Toyo University, he suffered a number of DQ losses in the university league. At that time, he trained at the Physical Training School of the Self Defense Forces, on the recommendation of Takemoto. After winning the All-Japan Amateur Boxing Championships in the first grade of university in 2004, he captured the bronze medal in the 2005 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

, and the silver medal in the 2005 King’s Cup in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

. After that, Murata went on an undefeated streak in his country, winning the All-Japan Amateur Boxing Championships also in 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011,. However, he was eliminated in the preliminary round by Nikolajs Grisunins at the

2005 World Amateur Boxing Championships The men's 2005 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Mianyang, China, from November 13 to November 20. The competition was organised by the world's governing body for amateur boxing AIBA. Medal winners Medal table External l ...

, and was also eliminated in the preliminary round by

Bakhtiyar Artayev Bakhtiyar Garifollauly Artayev ( kk, Бақтияр Ғарифоллаұлы Артаев, ''Baqtiiar Ğarifollaūly Artaev''; born 14 March 1983) is a Kazakh amateur boxer who won the gold medal for Kazakhstan at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He w ...

in the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. In the

2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships The 2007 AIBA World Boxing Championships were held in Chicago, United States from October 23, 2007 to November 3, 2007. It was held at the UIC Pavilion. It was the biggest World Championships in AIBA history. The competition is under the supe ...

he won against Donatas Bondorovas in the first round, but lost to

Shawn Estrada Shawn Estrada (born April 1, 1985) is an undefeated Mexican American professional boxer in the Super Middleweight division and was a U.S. Olympian at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Estrada ran for the city council in Commerce, California. Early life ...

in the second round. At the 2008 1st Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Bangkok, Thailand, he won over Narmandakh Shinebayar in the quarterfinal but lost to

Elshod Rasulov Elshod Rasulov (born March 7, 1986) is an amateur boxer from Uzbekistan, who won gold at the 2006 Asian Games and at the 2010 Asian Games and silver at 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships. Career In 2004 the southpaw counterpuncher knocked ...

in the semifinal. In the 2nd AIBA Asian 2008 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in

Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, he was eliminated in the quarterfinal by Homayoun Amiri and ended in the seventh place. Murata retired as a boxer after failing to qualify for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

. After graduating from the university, he started coaching at the boxing club while working as an employee of his alma mater. A year and a half later, he resumed his boxing career. In 2010, he secured the bronze medal by winning over Udai Al-Hindawi in the quarterfinal of the China Open Tournament in

Guiyang Guiyang (; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), historically rendered as Kweiyang, is the capital of Guizhou province of the People's Republic of China. It is located in the center of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, ...

, China, but lost to Husan Baymatov in the semifinal. In the 2010 Kazakhstan President's Cup in

, he won over Levan Guledani in the preliminary round but lost to Danabek Suzhanov in the quarterfinal. In July 2011, he won the gold medal at the 21st President's Cup in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital city, capital and list of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coa ...

. At the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships, Murata won over his preliminary contest over Leandro Sanchez (24–11). In a big upset, Murata stopped two-time world champion Abbos Atoev in the first round. He subsequently defeated Mohammad Sattarpour (22–11, in the second round) and

Stefan Härtel Stefan Härtel (born 6 February 1988) is a German professional boxer who held the European super-middleweight title in 2019. As an amateur, Härtel represented Germany at the 2012 Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals of the middleweight bracket ...

(18–15, in the third round). By beating Härtel, Murata secured qualification for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

. In the quarter-final, he beat Darren O'Neill (18-9). Finally he defeated

Esquiva Falcão Esquiva Falcão Florentino (born 12 December 1989) is a Brazilian professional boxer. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships and silver at the 2012 Olympics. Early life Falcão was born in Vitória, Espírito ...

(24–11) to qualify for the final. Murata's run came to an end against Evhen Khytrov, losing a close match (22–24) and taking home the silver medal.

2012 Olympics

In the

, second-seeded Murata defeated

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

's Abdelmalek Rahou 21–12 in the round of 16 at the

ExCeL London ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the ...

on 2 August 2012. He subsequently beat

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

Adem Kılıççı Adem ( ota, آدم, ) corresponding to Adam (see also Adam in Islam), is a masculine given name common in Turkey and Bosnia. Given name * Adem Alkaşi (born 1984), Turkish footballer *Adem Asil (born 1999), Turkish gymnast *Adem Bereket (bo ...

17–13 in the quarter-finals on 6 August, and also outpointed

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

's Abbos Atoev 13–12 in the semi-finals on 10 August. In the final on 11 August, he beat the

with a score of 14–13 and took the gold medal. After winning the quarter-finals, Murata and Florentino were both assured of the first men's boxing medal for their countries since the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport ev ...

. It was a tough, close bout. Murata is the hundredth gold medalist for Japan in their Olympic history. His is Japan's first boxing gold medal since Takao Sakurai won in the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

class in 1964, and also is the first-ever boxing medal in a weight class other than bantamweight or

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

. The Brazilian Olympic Committee asked the International Boxing Association (AIBA) for a review of the final, but the AIBA turned down the request. Murata finished his amateur career with a record of 119–18 (89 RSC).

Results

Men's Middleweight (75 kg) # Round of 16: Ryōta Murata, Japan (21) ''def'' Abdelmalek Rahou, Algeria (12) # Quarterfinals: Ryōta Murata, Japan (17) ''def''

, Turkey (13) # Semi-finals: Ryōta Murata, Japan (13) ''def'' Abbos Atoev, Uzbekistan (12) # Final: Ryōta Murata, Japan (14) ''def''

, Brazil (13)

Professional career

Murata registered with Misako Boxing Gym in April 2013, and signed with

Top Rank Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including Muh ...

in June. He also asked Teiken Promotions for cooperation in promotion. Murata is sponsored by

Dentsu Dentsu Inc. ( ja, 株式会社電通 ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dentsū'' or 電通 ''Dentsū'' for short) is a Japanese international advertising and public relations joint stock company headquartered in Tokyo. Dentsu is currently the largest advertis ...

. Before turning professional, Murata had declined participation in AIBA Pro Boxing by saying that he intended to retire as a boxer. Upon turning professional, Murata was banned from Japan Amateur Boxing Federation (JABF) for his disloyal behavior in February 2013. Qualified as a professional boxer in April 2013, he was cleared to fight in eight or more round bouts. His professional debut took place in a six-round bout at a 161 lb catchweight against Akio Shibata at the Ariake Coliseum on 25 August 2013. Murata won the bout by a second-round technical knockout. Murata went on to win his first four fights by knockout. Murata's first fight in the U.S. took place in November 2015 against Gunnar Jackson. He won the fight via

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

(99-91, 98-92, 97-93), outworking Jackson throughout most of the bout. Murata (8-0, 5 KOs), who was ranked fourth in the WBC middleweight ratings at the time, faced Gaston Alejandro Vega (24-10-1, 10 KOs) of Argentina on 30 January in Shanghai, on the under card of Chinese superstar Zou Shiming against Natan Santana Coutinho . Murata won the fight by KO in the second round.

WBA (Regular) middleweight champion

Murata vs. N'Dam

After 12 consecutive victories, Murata fought for the vacant WBA (Regular) title against Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam on 27 May 2017. Murata lost a very controversial

split decision A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor. A split dec ...

(116-111, 115-112, 110-117), in a match which many thought he'd won. N'Dam N'Jikam was knocked down in Round 4 but survived and got the decision. The two judges who scored the fight for N'Dam N'Jikam were immediately suspended and WBA president Gilberto Mendoza issued a public apology. A rematch was immediately ordered by the WBA, and scheduled for 22 October.

Murata vs. N'Dam II

On 22 October, Murata decisively beat N'Dam N'Jikam, who threw in the towel after round 7. Murata's body attack wore his opponent down, he also hurt him with a series of combinations. The fight was attended by 8,500 people at the

Ryōgoku Kokugikan , also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The fist ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the lands of the Ekōin temple in Ry ...

. This was N'Dam N'Jikam's first stoppage loss. After the fight, Murata said, "I know that you’re going to have a rougher time after you win a title. And there are other very strong champions in this weight class at other organizations. The people here know it. I will aim to be at their level." With the win, Murata became Japan's first Olympic medalist to win a world title, as well as the first Japanese middleweight world champion since

Shinji Takehara is a Japanese former professional boxer who has competed from 1989 to 1996. He was the first Japanese boxer to capture a middleweight title having held the WBA title from 1995 to 1996. Takehara turned pro in 1989 and had a relatively short prof ...

Murata vs. Blandamura

On 15 April, Murata retained his secondary middleweight world title with a one-sided eighth-round knockout of Emanuele Blandamura at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. Blandamura was ranked #6 by the WBA at middleweight. Defending his 160-pound belt for the first time since knocking out Hassan N'Dam in the seventh round of their October rematch to claim the title, Murata had a similarly easy time with Blandamura.

Murata vs. Brant

Murata failed to defend his WBA middleweight world title and suffered his second defeat on 20 October in Las Vegas, losing to

mandatory challenger In professional boxing and some other combat sports, a mandatory challenger is an opponent whom a champion must either fight or be forced to vacate their title as champion. A mandatory defence is the opposite of a voluntary defence, where the champ ...

Rob Brant Robert Brant (born October 2, 1990) is an American professional boxer who held the WBA (Regular) middleweight title from 2018 to 2019. As of November 2020, he is ranked as the world's sixth best active middleweight by the Transnational Boxing ...

of the U.S. by unanimous decision, 118-110, 119-109 and 119-109. Brant was ranked #3 by the WBA and #11 by the IBF at the time. Brant threw over 1,200 punches to get the decision, wearing Murata out and down over the course of the fight.

Murata vs. Brant II

Brant made his second defense of WBA "regular" middleweight title against Murata on 12 July 2019 at Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan. Murata regained the WBA "regular" middleweight title with a stunning 64 power punches he landed on Brant in Round 2, forcing referee Luis Pabon to stop the bout 2 minutes 34 seconds into the round. Murata's 64 power punches connected were the second most by a middleweight in a round next to

Mike McCallum Mike McCallum (born 7 December 1956) is a Jamaican former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1997. He held world championships in three weight classes, including the WBA super welterweight title from 1984 to 1988, the WBA middlewei ...

's 74 landed punches in a fifth-round TKO of

Nicky Walker Joseph Nicol Walker (born 29 September 1962) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for several clubs in Scotland and England. Walker was selected for many Scotland squads during the 1990s, earning two internat ...

in 1991.

Murata vs. Butler

Murata defended his regained title on 23 May December 2019 at the Yokohama Arena against hard-punching Canadian contender Steven Butler (27-1). Butler was ranked #8 by the WBA at middleweight. Murata's power showed up right from the start, but Butler managed to keep up with the champion in the early rounds using his long reach and fast combinations. However, Murata's constant offense, sharp jab and powerful rights started to wear down Butler in round four. Near the end of Round 5, Murata drove Butler to the ropes and began to unleash a series of hard punches, before landing a devastating left hook that caused Butler to crash down on the canvas. Referee Rafael Ramos immediately halted the contest, thus giving Murata the victory by TKO.

WBA (Super) middleweight champion

In January 2021, Murata was elevated to the status of full WBA (Super) middleweight champion. The position had previously been vacant after the previous Super champion

Canelo Álvarez Santos Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez Barragán (; born 18 July 1990) is a Mexican professional boxer. He has won multiple world championships in four weight classes from light middleweight to light heavyweight, including unified titles in three of ...

had vacated the title to move up to the super-middleweight division.

Murata vs. Golovkin

After multiple rumors suggesting that Murata was set to take on IBF and IBO champion

Gennady Golovkin Gennadiy Gennadyevich Golovkin ( Cyrillic: ; also spelled Gennady; born 8 April 1982), often known by his nickname "GGG" or "Triple G", is a Kazakhstani professional boxer. He has held multiple middleweight world championships, and is a two-ti ...

in a unification match, it was announced on 27 October 2021 that a deal had finally been agreed between the two to stage the bout at the

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...

in Saitama, Japan on 29 December 2021. The fight eventually took place on 9 April 2022. Murata suffered a ninth-round TKO loss.

Personal life

Murata was married in May 2010. His son was born in May 2011.

Professional boxing record

References

Video references

External links

*
Ryōta Murata's daily results
International Boxing Association *
Ryota Murata - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Murata, Ryota Middleweight boxers People from Nara, Nara Toyo University alumni 1986 births Living people Boxers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of Japan Olympic gold medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in boxing Boxers at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Japanese male boxers AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Asian Games competitors for Japan