According tp Dan Rafael of espn.com, Top Rank has signed 2012 Japanese Gold Medal winner Ryoa Murata.
Murata will campaign as a Moiddleweight
“He’s an exciting fighter and the people that know say he is ready for the professionals,” Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said. “He fought like a professional when he was an amateur. He had that pro style. He’s a banger.
“The way it looks and the way we evaluated him is that within a relatively short period of time he will be able to fight [top middleweights] like [Sergio] Martinez, [Gennady] Golovkin and [Julio Cesar] Chavez Jr. Sure, he needs some seasoning but in maybe year and half he could be ready to fight for a world title. He’s a cut above most young fighters.”
“He’s probably one of the most popular athletes in Japan right now after winning the gold medal,” Top Rank president Todd duBoef said. “That was one of the things we looked at. His popularity is huge and that is very compelling for us. We believe boxing is a global product, so we will look at all boxers from all ends of the world and if it makes sense to sign somebody, and we believe in them, that is what we will do.
“He is a good looking guy, he’s big, he’s physical the way he fights and he speaks a little bit of English already.”
