Tim Tszyu is prioritising a fight with the IBF junior-middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev over attempting to win over Turki Alalshikh, according to his promoter.
The Australian, 29, hopes to fight Murtazaliev before the end of 2024, and should he do so and succeed he will have established himself as a significant figure in what is rapidly becoming one of the most appealing weight divisions in the world.
A different side has perhaps recently be seen of Alalshikh, the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority. Where his organisation was previously largely recognised for funding some of the year’s highest-profile fights – among them Terence Crawford’s recent victory over Ismail Madrimov to win the WBA 154lbs title – he has been dismissive of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, spoken of wanting the UFC event he is sponsoring to overshadow Alvarez’s fight in September with Edgar Berlanga, and also said “I will not work with Tim Tszyu”.
That Tszyu had previously agreed to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr – their fight was cancelled because of his struggles to recover from a cut – on the undercard of Madrimov-Crawford meant him doing so came as a surprise, but not unlike Alvarez and others, his promoter insists he is determined to progress regardless of the influence of Alalshikh.
“Right now, we’re going to fight for an IBF world title,” said George Rose, the chief executive of No Limit Boxing. “Terence Crawford doesn’t own that – that belongs to Bakhram Murtazaliev. So we’ll be fighting Bakhram and we’ll be winning that world title. Then we’ve got another piece of jewellery for Tim and we’ll be looking at what the next opportunities are for him.
“[Alalshikh is] pushing Terence Crawford’s case. Terence is his Riyadh Season ambassador and he wants what’s best for Terence Crawford.
“Terence Crawford has now got belts – he’s a guy we would love to talk to in the future but right now we’re focused on Bakhram and we’re getting that fight done. We want to win that belt and Terence Crawford is also focused on what opportunities lie for him in this division.”
“He’ll never be the king of the division if he doesn’t fight Tim Tszyu. Tim Tszyu is the king of the division.”
Tszyu, who lost his undefeated record to Sebastian Fundora in March, has spoken of wanting to fight the 31-year-old Murtazaliev in enough time to be able to secure another date before the end of 2024.