Former junior middleweight champ Tim Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) has been tied to several opponents for his comeback fight, but it appears as though he finally has his foe firmly lined up.
The IBF has ordered a championship bout between their 154 lb. titlist Bakhram Murtazaliev (22-0, 16 KOs) and highest-ranked contender, Tszyu. The respective teams now have 30 days to reach an agreement before the bout goes to purse bid, but it appears that signing things up might not be too difficult.
“I’m blessed to be in this position again and fighting for another world title. It’s amazing. It’s time to become a two-time world champ,” the 29-year-old Tszyu told ESPN.
“Good things comes to those who wait,” he said. “(Murtazaliev) is a world champion for a reason, and in this level you’ve just got to take them all out one by one…And they all will fall so I’m looking forward to this challenge wherever it is. It’s been a long time coming.”
The second generation champ was considered an ascending superstar earlier this year, headed into his first PPV-headliner spot opposite Keith Thurman on PBC’s first Amazon Prime Video event.
An injury to Thurman, however, would take considerable shine off the showcase and open the door to late replacement, the awkward Sebastian Fundora– a turn of events that would ultimately lead to Tszyu’s rise being temporarily sidetracked.
In his bout with the 6-foot-6 Fundora, Tszyu looked to be in clear control for the first two rounds until he suffered an ugly gash around his scalp that gushed blood into his face and eyes for the rest of the contest.
Fundora would manage to plow ahead and outwork Tszyu the rest of the way to take a split decision victory, as well as Tszyu’s WBO world junior middleweight title and the vacant WBC junior middleweight strap.
The loss sent Tszyu into healing mode and a bit of a career regroup.
A talked-about showdown with Vergil Ortiz Jr. on the Saudi-sponsored BMO Stadium show August 3 in Los Angeles never materialized due to Tszyu’s cut being insufficiently healed. A subsequent September 22 IBF title eliminator with Erickson Lubin would also be scrapped before it was ever finalized, due to a reported Lubin hand injury.
The IBF, rather than ordering another eliminator, has now decided to move Tszyu right up to a title fight.
A date, location, and broadcast outlet are still undetermined, although Tszyu’s native Australia would be a favored spot and PBC on Prime appears to be the targeted platform.
Murtazaliev, 31, is a Russia native currently fighting out of Oxnard, California. He become IBF world champ in April of this year by stopping veteran former world titlist Jack Culcay in eleven rounds.
Paul Magno has over forty years of experience in and around the sport of boxing and has had his hand in everything from officiating to training. As a writer, his work has appeared on Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Fight Hype, Max Boxing, Boxing.com, Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules, Overtime Heroics, Bleacher Report, and Premier Boxing Champions. He is currently the owner and managing editor or The Boxing Tribune. You can follow his Twitter/X account, @boxing_tribune, for breaking boxing news, analysis, and sometimes NSFW commentary. For Advertising, Inquiries, etc., send him an email here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com