Murray to fight hard-hitting Golovkin in Monte Carlo in February

Martin Murray has agreed a deal to fight Gennady Golovkin for the WBA and IBO middleweight titles in Monaco on February 1.

They are to meet at Monte Carlo’s Salle des etoiles, where Golovkin destructively knocked out Nobuhiro Ishida in three rounds last March.

The fight will be Murray’s third for a world title. He was unfortunate not to beat Felix Sturm in December 2011 when the judges ruled the fight a draw while he dropped Sergio Martinez last April before again being denied by the scorecards.

Tough task: Martin Murray will fight Gennady Golovkin in Monte Carlo on February 1

This will be his toughest fight yet as the Kazakh’s incredible punching power – he has won each of his 28 fights and all but three inside the distance – has quickly made him the most feared fighter on the planet.

Murray is expected to earn around $500,000 (£312,000) for the unenviable challenge but must first come through a fight, against an as-yet unnamed opponent, on the undercard of Carl Froch’s IBF and WBA super middleweight title defence against George Groves in Manchester on November 23.

It is understood American television network HBO are desperate to later fund a unification match up between Golovkin and the decorated WBC champion Martinez but that the latter’s promoter, Lou DiBella, is reluctant for his fighter to face such a dangerous opponent. 

Frightening: Gennady Golovkin stopped Curtis Stevens in New York last weekend

DiBella, of course, previously witnessed Golovkin’s power when he stopped another of his fighters, the tough Matthew Macklin, in only three rounds in June, but Golovkin’s camp hope that by securing a more convincing victory over Murray than Martinez did the fight will become easier to make. 

There have also been talks between Golovkin’s camp, Froch and Matchroom. All parties are understood to be keen on a big-money match up should the super middleweight come through the Groves fight unscathed.

Murray, who cannot fight Golovkin in the US because of difficulties obtaining a visa as a consequence of his criminal record, had been scheduled to face Garth Wood in Australia on December 11 until that fight’s collapse.

Golovkin stopped Curtis Stevens last weekend when the American's corner retired him at the end of the eighth round.