Bakhram Murtazaliev insisted he has no problem fitting his 6’0″ frame into a junior middleweight outfit.
The defending IBF titlist proved that on the scales on Friday when he checked in at a slim 152.8 pounds. Russia’s Murtazaliev is set for his first title defense against former WBO titleholder Tim Tszyu, who weighed in at 153.4 pounds.
Their scheduled 12-round bout will take place this Saturday on a Premier Boxing Champions show from Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida. Prime Video will broadcast the event live, beginning at 8:00 PM ET.
Murtazaliev (22-0, 16 KOs) clinched a high-profile first title defense affair. He also finds himself back on the PBC circuit – this time with a television audience.
The undefeated Russian won the belt on the road and in spectacular fashion. Murtazaliev knocked out Jack Culcay in the 11th round of their vacant title fight on April 6 in Falkansee, Germany.
Validation came from Murtazaliev’s ridiculously long wait for a title shot. He became the mandatory in November 2019, then accepted several step-down offers that included four consecutive non-televised games. His team finally stood up last year when the IBF ordered his title shot.
This resulted in then Ring/undisputed champion Jermell Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs) vacating his IBF belt. Charlo has since parted ways with all his divisional hardware.
Saturday is PBC’s first standalone non-pay-per-view event on Prime Video. His PPV launch on the platform was also headlined by Tszyu. (24-1, 17 KOs), who previously held the WBO junior middleweight title.
The Ring’s no. 4-rated junior middleweight was upgraded from interim title to full last September, also the result of an expected shot against Charlo that never happened. He defended the belt in a twelve-round victory over Brian Mendoza last October 15 in Broadbeach, Australia.
The reign ended in a bloody split decision loss to Fundora, no. 3 at 154. Tszyu was scheduled to face former welterweight titleholder Keith Thurman, who withdrew due to injury. Fundora was scheduled to appear on the undercard and agreed to fill the gap on top of the account.
Tszyu jumped out after a strong opening round but suffered a cut to the top of his scalp when he collided with Fundora’s elbow. His face was a mask of blood for the duration of the fight, which he came up short on two scorecards.
The wound was deep enough that he wasn’t medically cleared in time to honor an August 3 showdown against Vergil Ortiz (21-0, 21 KOs). The fight would have landed on the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov undercard at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Rather than a return home, Tszyu will fight for the second straight in the US, this time in his East Coast bow.
Below are the weights for the remaining bouts of the PBC on Prime Video tripleheader.
Yoenis Tellez (8-0, 6 KOs), Stafford, Texas via Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, 153.8 lbs
Johan Gonzalez (35-3, 34 KOs), Las Vegas via Valencia, Venezuela, 153 lbs
10 rounds, junior middleweight
Cesar Mateo Tapia (17-0, 10 KOs), Narrabeen, Australia, 160 lbs
Endry Saavedra (16-1, 13 KOs), Tijuana, Mexico, 159.8 pounds
10 rounds, middleweight
