Murata vs Butler

Who won Murata vs Butler?

Ryota Murata beat Steven Butler by technical knockout in the 5th round on Monday 23rd December 2019 at Arena in Kanagawa.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 160 pounds (11.4 stone or 72.6 KG).

This contest was for the WBA middleweight championship of the world.

Also, on the undercard Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez beat Diomel Diocos and Moruti Mthalane defeated Akira Yaegashi for the IBF World Flyweight belt.

Murata vs Butler stats

Back in December 2019, Ryota Murata stepped into the ring with a record of 15 wins, 2 loses and 0 draws, 12 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Steven Butler made his way to the ring with a record of 28 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw, with 24 of those wins by knock out.

The stats suggested Butler had a slight advantage in power over Murata, with a 86% knock out percentage over Murata's 80%.

Ryota Murata was the older man by 10 years, at 34 years old.

Butler had 3-inch reach advantage.

Both Ryota Murata & Steven Butler fought out of an orthodox stance.

Murata was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 13 less fights, and made his debut in 2013, 7 months earlier than Butler, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 45 less professional rounds, 120 to Butler's 165.

Steven Butler was ranked number 8 by the WBA in the 160lb division.

Murata vs Butler form

Ryota Murata had stopped 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Rob Brant on 12th July 2019 by technical knockout in the 2nd round in their WBA World Middleweight championship fight at EDION Arena Osaka, Osaka, Japan.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Rob Brant on 20th October 2018 by unanimous decision in their WBA World Middleweight championship fight at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, United States.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Emanuele Blandamura on 15th April 2018 by technical knockout in the 8th round in their WBA World Middleweight championship fight at Arena, Kanagawa, Japan.

Before that, he had beat Hassan N’Dam on 22nd October 2017 by technical knockout in the 7th round in their WBA World Middleweight championship fight at Kokugikan, Tokyo.

He had lost to Hassan N’Dam on 20th May 2017 by split decision in their WBA World Middleweight championship fight at Ariake Colosseum, Tokyo.

Butler had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 4 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Paul Valenzuela Jr on 26th September 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at Montreal Casino, Quebec, Canada.

Previous to that, he had won against Vitalii Kopylenko on 2nd May 2019 by split decision in their 10 round contest at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, The Joint, Nevada, United States.

Going into that contest, he had beat Jesus Antonio Gutierrez on 24th November 2018 by knockout in the 2nd round at Le Centre Financiere Sun Life, Quebec, Canada.

Before that, he had defeated Jordan Balmir on 6th October 2018 by technical knockout in the 3rd round at Centre Videotron, Quebec.

He had won against Carson Jones on 23rd June 2018 by technical knockout in the 7th round at Montreal Casino, Quebec.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Steven Butler had been fighting more than Ryota Murata.

Going to this contest, Ryota Murata had last fought 5 months and 11 days ago, while Steven Butler's last outing had been 2 months and 27 days ago.

Murata's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 7 months and 3 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 8 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 41 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 8.2 rounds on average.

Butler's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year and 6 months, meaning he had been fighting on average every 3 months and 19 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 23 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4.6 rounds on average.

What time did Murata vs Butler start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 11:30 AM UTC at Arena, Kanagawa, Japan, which was 6:30 AM EST or 3:30 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 11:30 AM GMT in the UK.

Who broadcast Murata vs Butler?

The fight was broadcast in the United States by ESPN+.

What were the odds on Murata vs Butler?

Ryota Murata was a 1/5 (-500) favourite going into the contest, while Steven Butler made his way into the ring at 333/100 (+330) with oddsmakers.