Erickson Lubin says he wants to challenge IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev next. #3 ranked Lubin (28-2, 16 KOs) revealed that Tim Tszyu already had plans to fight him next if he beat Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) last Saturday night, but that with ‘ lost a third. to TKO, that fight doesn’t happen anymore. Lubin says he will move on now and face Murtazaliev next.
Lubin wants title shot
Unless the IBF orders the fight, it will be a voluntary defense for Murtazaliev, who said last Saturday that he wants to fight unification bouts. If he can’t get either champion to fight him, he might be open to defending against Lubin.
Lubin has won his last two fights against Jesus Ramos and Luis Arias since being stopped by Sebastian Fundora in the ninth round two years ago on April 9, 2022. some people thought he would lose that fight. The scores were 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113.
The 29-year-old Lubin has been inactive for 13 months since his victory over Ramos on September 30 last year. He says he doesn’t like taking tune-ups. So, if Lubin does face Murtazaliev next, he will have a long layoff to face one of the most dangerous fighters in the 154-lb division.
“It was exciting from the opening bell. Tim Tszyu was caught, and he couldn’t recover,” Erickson Lubin told Thaboxingvoice about last Saturday night’s fight between Tim Tszyu and IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev.
“No, I had my money on Tim Tszyu,” Lubin said when asked if he expected that outcome. “He was already a champion. So if Tim beat him, me and Tim, we already had something planned. But now we have to move on and try to get this Russian guy (Murtazaliev).”
Setups not required
Lubin needs to be confident to take on Murtazaliev, but he may yet regret it. It’s not Jesus Ramos or Luis Arias he’ll be facing. Additionally, Murtazaliev is a much bigger puncher than the 6’6″ Sebastian Fundora, who took a heavy beating from Lubin and turned his face into a lion-like appearance. His face looked nothing like it had at the start of the fight.
“No, I don’t even like tune-ups. I’ll get in there with him,” says Lubin about being ready to challenge Murtazaliev next for his IBF belt.
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