Gennadiy Golovkin's global run in boxing is comparable to Muhammad Ali's, his promoter claims

• Gennadiy Golovkin returns to the ring Saturday as he fights Ryota Murata in Japan.
• It will be the ninth country the veteran boxer will have competed in as a pro boxer.

Gennadiy Golovkin's global run in boxing is comparable to Muhammad Ali's, his promoter Tom Loeffler claimed to Insider recently.

The two-time world middleweight champion returns to the ring Saturday for a unification bout involving Ryota Murata at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Japan. The event will be broadcast on DAZN.

It will be the ninth country Golovkin has fought in as a pro boxer — a globetrotting strategy Loeffler said he always had in mind for a marquee fighter he wanted to guide into an international star.

"I wanted to mold Gennadiy's career around what Ali accomplished because he was the type of guy to fight anybody, anywhere," Loeffler told us.

Ali competed primarily in the US but also fought in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

His most famous boxing matches took place outside of America like his 1974 upset win over George Foreman in Zaire, dubbed The Rumble in the Jungle, and his 1975 win over Joe Frazier in their trilogy bout that took place in the Philippines, which has been called the Thrilla in Manila.

Golovkin is yet to have an international fight of that stature but has a two-fight rivalry with boxing's No.1 fighter Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez that will stand the test of time.

Regardless, Loeffler argues Golovkin "has had so many international fights, selling out arenas at the 02 in London; Monte Carlo, which was a really exclusive VIP event at the casino in Monaco; and he's fought in Kazakhstan, Panama, Ukraine … all over the world."

This weekend's bout against Murata is "just one more leg of that world tour, and I see a lot of similarities between him and Muhammad in terms of just willing to fight all over the world."

Loeffler, who worked with Ali when the boxing icon was promoting his biopic starring Will Smith, said Ali's "willingness to fight everywhere multiplied his popularity internationally," which, he believes, is one of the reasons Golovkin has built a reputation amongst global fight fans.

It is something Loeffler says is against the norm, particularly for fighters in America. "The simple reason is you don't know what conditions you're going to be walking into over there.

"When we went to the UK you're dealing with the time difference, food, travel, hotel, traffic … everything like that, when you don't have the luxury of living here at home.

"Same thing in Japan; when we arrive over there, there's a quarantine process especially now with the pandemic, which is still a topic internationally. Again, the food, time difference, all those types of things.

"So I've got to give Gennadiy a lot of credit as he's one of the best-known boxers in the world, and yet he's flying over to Japan to meet another world champion, to unify titles."

Loeffler said: "That would be a huge event wherever Gennadiy fights but because Murata is so popular in Japan, and Gennadiy is popular all over the world, it makes it a much bigger boxing event."

Japanese fans "really revere their combat heroes, whether it's sumo wrestling or boxing, and we see great talents like Naoya Inoue, Kazuto Ioka, and Murata who, at this point, really is the most popular boxer, reaching rock-star status over there in Japan."

Stakes are high this weekend as victory for 39-year-old Golovkin means he will have done his part in attempting to finalize a September bout against Saul Alvarez. It would be the third installment in their rivalry.

Loeffler believes the magnitude will be felt in Japan, too. "This is probably the biggest boxing match in Japan maybe since Mike Tyson went over there, or Muhammad Ali, simply because of how popular Murata is."

The Golovkin and Murata fight is expected to begin at approximately 5.10 a.m. PT / 8.10 a.m. ET / 1.10 p.m. GMT on Saturday.