Gennady Golovkin stops Ryōta Murata in nine to unify middleweight belts

Gennady Golovkin became the unified world middleweight champion with a ninth-round stoppage of Ryōta Murata on Saturday at the Saitama Super Arena. Photograph: Shuji Kajiyama/AP

Gennady Golovkin became the unified world middleweight champion with a ninth-round stoppage of Japanese fighter Ryōta Murata on Saturday.

The Kazakh boxer Golovkin, who turned 40 on Friday, sent his opponent to the canvas with a big right hand and Murata’s corner threw in a towel.