“When they talk in the media, they say they want to fight the best,” Murtazaliev said. “When it comes to business, they put the amount of money that is too high and not affordable.”
The situation mirrors a familiar pattern in the junior middleweight division. Interest is expressed publicly, while private conversations do not move forward. No fight is formally ruled out, but negotiations stop before they reach a workable stage.
For Murtazaliev, that cycle left him a world title without a clear route to the division’s highest-profile bouts. He enters Saturday’s fight as the IBF champion after stopping Tim Tszyu, but there is no confirmed opponent waiting outside the Kelly defense.
Murtazaliev emphasized that his comments were not aimed at Ennis personally, but at how big fights are often discussed. If Ennis is chasing titles at 154 pounds, the IBF belt is already in play. Murtazaliev said he was ready to move beyond the protracted back-and-forth and move toward concrete negotiations.
The immediate focus remains on Saturday’s battle. Murtazaliev must first get through Kelly before any future discussions can move forward. But speaking openly, the IBF champion clarified his position. The junior middleweight division is stacked, but nothing is really moving.
With the Vergil Ortiz Jr. lawsuit against Golden Boy still hanging over things and talks going nowhere with Jaron Ennis, champions like Murtazaliev are stuck waiting. After picking up the biggest win of his career, he made it clear that he has no interest in standing around while other fights are tied up on paper.
He doesn’t ask to be named after fights. He asks that the conversation finally move.
