IBF junior middleweight titleholder Bakhram Murtazaliev wants to show the world who he is against Tim Tszyu

Bakhram Murtazaliev sat with his father on the living room sofa and swallowed everything with his eyes. In 2003, Murtazaliev was 10 at the time and heavily immersed in wrestling. He had no idea what he was looking at that would one day shape him to become the IBF junior middleweight titleholder. He just knew the guy on TV, this American named Roy Jones, was fun.

It inspired him to fight because growing up on the streets of Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, you either fought every day or you got your ass kicked. Murtazaliev decided to raise his fists and defend himself. The other kids his age quickly learned, even at 10, not to challenge him. In his first three months of boxing, he never lost in 40 amateur fights. That was his start – starting with a look at Roy Jones Jr.

“I didn’t think I’d be as good as Roy Jones, and I still don’t even think I’m good now, to be honest with you, maybe that’s why I work as hard as I do,” Murtazaliev said told The Ring through an interpreter in August. “When I (knocked out Jack Culcay in the 11th round for the IBF title), it felt good to lift that IBF belt over my head. I fight to feed my family. They are my main driving force. I want my children and family to have a comfortable lifestyle, without any struggle. Nothing stands in the way when it comes to my family.”

Life will certainly take a big turn for Murtazaliev if he successfully defends the IBF title in his first defense against 29-year-old challenger Tim Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) this Saturday in PBC Championship Boxing on Prime Video at the Caribe Royale Resort, in Orlando, Florida.

The 31-year-old Murtazaliev (22-0, 16 KOs) has two children, a two-year-old son and an eight-month-old daughter. They mean the world to him, and it’s a primary reason why he fights as if his life depends on winning—because, in his mind, it does.

“I didn’t grow up with anything,” he said. “I never wanted for anything because my parents supported me a lot. They encouraged me to stay in the gym at a young age. I had two choices outside the house: Stay disciplined and follow boxing or get into trouble in the streets. In Chechnya, which is a small republic, if you don’t fight in the streets at least once a week, that’s a holiday for you. This is what I grew up in. Over there you fight in the street.

“There was never a rock bottom. I never hit. Since I was six, I’ve been wrestling, and after I wrestled, I started boxing after seeing Roy Jones. After watching his fight, how great he moved, how great he performed, I thought I would be able to do the same. I grew up in Chechnya until I was 19.

Murtazaliev’s hard-boiled upbringing is something Tszyu should be aware of. He will keep coming, and coming, and coming. His family still lives in Russia. He trains in the United States under Roma Kalantaryan, who worked with Murtazaliev in Oxnard, California, and said: “We had a great eight-week training camp, Bakhram is 100 percent ready to defend his titles, and I believe he will be victorious. Tszyu is a good fighter, a tough kid who knows how to box, and he doesn’t tire. We have fought that type of fighter many times and we are prepared for anything he brings. We have the advantage in range, height and, I think, power as well. There are going to be two pressure fighters in that ring on October 19.”

Murtazaliev is 6-foot, to Tszyu’s 5-foot-8½, and he has a two-inch reach advantage, 72 inches to Tszyu’s 70.

“Making weight will not be a problem, I am ready for this,” said Murtazaliev. “I wanted to fight in the United States and I got my wish. (Since I won the title), many people asked me for money (laughs). The best part about fighting Tszyu is that he will be there to punch; he will not run. He is a fighter. He will come to fight. It works for me. I like to fight in the middle of the ring. It’s going to be a big battle for the fans.”