October 20: Ryota Murata Ready to Conquer Las Vegas Against Rob Brant

Published by Shawn C.

*LAS VEGAS **(Aug. 30, 2018)* — Ryota Murata, the fighting pride of Japan,
will take his world championship show on the road to the heart of the Las
Vegas Strip. Murata will make the second defense of his WBA middleweight
world title against Rob “Bravo” Brant on Saturday, Oct. 20 at Park Theater
at Park MGM.

Murata-Brant will stream live in the United States beginning at 10:30 p.m.
ET on ESPN+ —the new multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming
service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International
segment in conjunction with ESPN.
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Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Teiken Promotions and Greg Cohen
Promotions, ticket information for this world championship event will be
announced shortly.

*“*We are delighted to have middleweight champion Ryota Murata fighting at
the Park Theater,” said Top Rank CEO Bob Arum. “He is one of the leading
sports figures in Japan, and his fans will be in for a treat when they
watch him in Las Vegas.”

“It is the dream of all boxers to headline in Las Vegas, and for me, this
is certainly a dream come true,” Murata said. “Rob Brant is an excellent
opponent, and I will prepare my best to put on a great performance for all
of the fans in Las Vegas and watching on ESPN+. I am only getting started
as a world champion.”

“I am very excited about my upcoming bout with Ryota Murata. This fight has
been on my mind since before he fought Hassan N’Dam,” Brant said. “Though I
respect all of his accomplishments, I have always felt as though I have all
of the tools to clearly defeat him. Not only has it been a life goal of
mine to be a world champion, but also to headline a card in Las Vegas at a
major venue. I take none of this lightly. This means the world to me, and
that will reflect on October 20.”

Bill Hornbuckle, President of MGM Resorts International, said, “It is an
honor to welcome Ryota Murata to Park MGM as he returns to the boxing
capital of the world for another international championship event. We look
forward to delivering fight fans worldwide a great night of boxing at Park
Theater, highlighted by these two talented fighters.”

Murata (14-1, 11 KOs) is one of Japan’s most popular sporting stars, a
crossover figure who captured Olympic gold at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Following the Olympic gold medal and an amateur career that also included
five Japanese national titles, Murata turned pro with great fanfare and
graduated to scheduled 10-rounders by his fourth pro bout. He made his Las
Vegas debut at the Thomas & Mack Center on Nov. 7, 2015, winning a clear
10-round unanimous decision against Gunnar Jackson. Murata appeared on the
on the Terence Crawford-Viktor Postol undercard at the MGM Grand Garden
Arena on July 23, 2016, knocking out George Tahdooahnippah in the opening
round.

Murata’s lone loss was a highly controversial one. In front of his home
fans at Tokyo’s Ariake Colosseum in May 2017, he dropped a 12-round split
decision against Hassan N’Dam for the vacant WBA middleweight title. The
WBA ordered an immediate rematch, and five months later, Murata stopped
N’Dam in the seventh round, becoming only the second Japanese-born
middleweight world champion in boxing history. He made his first title
defense on April 15 in Yokohama, Japan, knocking out former European
middleweight champion Emanuele Blandamura in the eighth round. The
Blandamura fight drew a peak rating of 17 million viewers on Japanese
television.

Brant (23-1, 16 KOs), from St. Paul, Minnesota, turned pro in 2012
following an amateur career that included a U.S. National Golden Gloves
title in 2010. He captured the vacant NABA middleweight title on Jan. 22,
2016 with a one-punch knockout against DeCarlo Perez. Brant defended the
belt two times before moving up to the super middleweight division to take
part in a single-elimination tournament. In the quarterfinals of the
tournament, he was outboxed by former two-time light heavyweight world
champion Jürgen Brähmer, losing a unanimous decision. In his most recent
fight, March 9 in Hinckley, Minnesota, Brant returned to middleweight and
knocked out Colby Courter in the first round.

Shawn C.

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October 20: Ryota Murata Ready to Conquer Las Vegas Against Rob Brant

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