By Keith Idec
TURKI Alalshikh expressed interest in working with Bakhram Murtazaliev even before the unbeaten IBF junior middleweight champion demolished Tim Tszyu on Saturday night.
The chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the emerging Murtazaliev are deeply religious Muslims. Murtazaliev also holds a recognized title within the same 154-pound division as Terence Crawford, the highest-profile fighter with whom Alalshikh has worked since he entered the boxing business a year ago.
Alalshikh became an even bigger Murtazaliev fan following the Russian’s four-knockdown destruction of Tszyu, with whom the Saudi fight financier engaged in a very public dispute during the summer. Unless Alalshikh can make Murtazaliev-Crawford, however, the 26-year-old Murtazaliev more than likely will continue working with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions.
Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) isn’t contractually committed to Tom Brown, the primary promoter for PBC. His last five fights have been part of TGB Promotions/PBC cards, though, and Murtazaliev and his handlers appreciate how they’ve been treated by Brown and PBC since he became the IBF’s mandatory challenger for its 154-pound crown almost five years ago.
PBC paid Murtazaliev and promoter Main Events four six-figure packages to step aside and allow former IBF champ Jermell Charlo to partake in title unification fights with Jeison Rosario and Brian Castano (twice) and then his super middleweight showdown with Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez.
Murtazaliev fought four times against modest opposition as part of the abovementioned deal, which earned Murtazaliev and Main Events more than $1.5 million combined. His victory over Tszyu headlined PBC’s inaugural non-pay-per-view show on Amazon’s Prime Video from Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida.
“PBC has a slew of good opponents for him to fight,” Kathy Duva, Main Events’ CEO, told Boxing News. “And working with them really has been a pleasure. We’ll be happy to continue working with them. If some monster fight comes along in the Middle East, that’s another thing. At some point, he wants a monster fight.
“If a Crawford fight came along, it would give us pause. But I think if not that, we’d probably be looking at [working with PBC]. We’re gonna be talking to PBC first. As Tom pointed out to me [Saturday] night, ‘Jeez, we’ve been doing all your fights since 2020.’ They’ve been a pleasure to work with.”
Erickson Lubin (26-2, 18 KOs), long aligned with PBC, is the leading available contender to fight for Murtazaliev’s IBF belt. Lubin, a southpaw from Orlando, turned down the opportunity to challenge Murtazaliev on Saturday night because he dealt with a hand injury at that time.
The fourth-ranked Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs) happily accepted that title shot, which took place six months after his 12-round, split-decision defeat to Sebastian Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) on March 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Tszyu sustained a well-documented, deep cut on the top of his head a couple of seconds before the second round of the Fundora fight ended, which completely changed the course of their bout.
Murtazaliev’s victory was much clearer. He dropped Tszyu three times in the second round and once more in the third round, which caused Tszyu’s trainer, Igor Goloubev, to throw in the towel.
Tszyu was a 7-1 favourite over Murtazaliev, who made his first title defence, according to several sportsbooks.
Beyond Lubin, the winner between Fundora, who owns the WBC and WBO belts, and former IBF/WBA/WBC welterweight champ Errol Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs) early in 2025 would be another attractive opponent for Murtazaliev later next year. Murtazaliev might consider finally facing Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs) as well if he cannot secure a title unification fight.