IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev will finally return to the ring, with his long-awaited title defense against Josh Kelly now officially set. The bout will be promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and streamed live on DAZN, with a fight date locked in for late January.
The event is expected to take place in the north east of England, with Newcastle positioned as the leading host city given Kelly’s Sunderland roots. The announcement ends months of delays that followed Murtazaliev’s dominant third-round knockout victory over former champion Tim Tszyu back on October 19, 2024.
Murtazaliev was initially steered toward a mandatory defense against Erickson Lubin, but those negotiations collapsed when Lubin opted for a more lucrative fight against WBC interim champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. on November 8. That shift placed Kelly next in line, though progress was slowed by the IBF’s rigid purse split that limited Kelly’s earnings.
Fight card:
▪️Bakhram Murtazaliev vs. Josh Kelly, 12 rounds, for the IBF World super welterweight title
