BOXING: Brant, Murata Collide In World Title Fight Rematch

Robert “Bravo” Brant (25-1, 17 KO’s) of Oakdale, MN has faced off with Japan’s Ryota Murata (14-2, 11 KO’s) for the final time before entering the ring to defend his WBA middleweight title. At the time of this writing, (2:33 PM Central Time on Thursday, July 11, 2019) it is 4:33 AM, Friday morning in Osaka, Japan where Brant and Murata are set to meet for the second time. The fight will be streamed live across the globe on ESPN+ at approximately 7 AM Central time Friday morning.

Brant, who now resides in Dallas, Texas thoroughly out-boxed Murata in October of 2018 to capture the Japanese stars title. He then went on to batter and stop Khasan Baysangurov at the Grand Casino in Hinckley, MN last February in his first title defense.  This will be the first time Murata has fought since being defeated by Brant. If Brant can out-duel Murata again, a fight against former welterweight champion Jeff Horn is rumored to be up next.

The first fight between Brant and Murata went as planned for the Minnesotan. He was able to neutralize much of the power that Murata brought into the ring behind a near record setting number of punches thrown and elusive movement. Murata is sure to attempt to up his punch out-put and show that he is better than the demoralized fighter he was during the first go-around. This could leave even more openings for Brant to capitalize and it could also give Murata a better chance to regain his title. Minnesota fans can tune in early tomorrow morning to see how the rematch goes down.

The Brant-Murata fight will be shown live on ESPN+ at approximately 7 AM Central time on Friday morning. The fight card begins broadcasting at 5 AM Central time and includes a 12 round WBC junior flyweight  title fight between Ken Shiro and Jonathan Taconing.

Watch the main event between Brant and Murata  live on ESPN+ on the ESPN App.