Murata vs Butler: Live streaming results and discussion

Results

• Ryota Murata TKO-5 Steven Butler (2:45)
• Moruti Mthalane TKO-9 Akira Yaegashi (2:54)
• Kenshiro Teraji TKO-4 Randy Petalcorin (1:08)
• Roman Gonzalez TKO-2 Diomel Diocos (2:20)

Tonight/this morning/Monday morning/whatever, we’ll have live coverage of a four-fight card from Yokohama, Japan, headlined by Ryota Murata facing Steven Butler in a middleweight bout for Murata’s WBA “world” title.

Live coverage will start at 3:55 am ET, streaming on ESPN+.

Murata, 33, regained the belt on July 12, stopping Rob Brant in the second round of a rematch in Osaka. There was talk of doing Murata-Brant III right away, but Brant instead opted to step aside for the moment (he does have a rematch clause he plans to exercise), allowing Canada’s Butler, 24, a chance to step in.

In the co-feature, longtime flyweight titleholder Moruti Mthalane will defend his IBF belt against Akira Yaegashi in what could be a fantastic fight, and we’ll also see top junior flyweight Ken Shiro defend the WBC title against late sub challenger Randy Petalcorin.

Boil up a pot of Mountain Dew and get your ass in here for some fights.

Main Card (ESPN+, 3:55 am ET)

• Ryota Murata (15-2, 12 KO) vs Steven Butler (28-1-1, 24 KO), middleweights, 12 rounds
• Moruti Mthalane (38-2, 25 KO) vs Akira Yaegashi (28-6, 16 KO), flyweights, 12 rounds
• Kenshiro Teraji (16-0, 9 KO) vs Randy Petalcorin (31-3-1, 23 KO), junior flyweights, 12 rounds