Abass Baraou has questioned whether Josh Kelly has the mental strength to complement the skills he believes are enough to defeat Bakhram Murtazaliev on Saturday.
Kelly and Murtazaliev contest the Russian’s IBF junior-middleweight title at the Newcastle Arena in Newcastle, England – hours before Baraou and Xander Zayas, at Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico, fight for the titles of the WBA and WBO.
Baraou and the 31-year-old Kelly, partly as a consequence of having previously both been promoted by Wasserman Boxing, have sparred together. The German also has a shared opponent with Murtazaliev, in Jack Culcay, and like Murtazaliev has a reputation of being one of their competitive weight division’s most avoided fighters.
In the event of victory England’s Kelly already has an agreement in place to fight Jaron “Boots” Ennis, according to their promoter Eddie Hearn. Baraou, however, while being an admirer of Kelly, believes that the 33-year-old Murtazaliev will have too much for Kelly, on the grounds that he has the necessary “toughness” Kelly lacks.
“It’s a good fight,” Baraou told BoxingScene. “It’s a big opportunity for Josh Kelly as well. It’s a great fight. I’ll definitely look over it after my fight.
“We sparred many times. Josh is very skilful; talented; has also the amateur experience. But he’s very weak-minded.
“As a fighter, the most important thing you can have is your mind, and he doesn’t have it. But he has good technique; he’s playful; skilful with it, and with this fight he can really show if he’s got the heart as a boxer, because he will need it. He has the talent to beat this guy, but I think he will need more than that. He will need to show heart and go through the fire also with this guy.
“Some people go for it, and I don’t think he has it, or he’s showing it. The toughness in boxing – I feel like that’s a bit missing in his style.”
Baraou, the WBA champion, lost for the only time in 18 fights in 2020 when Culcay earned over him a split decision. Murtazaliev in 2024 stopped Culcay in a fight for the vacant IBF title. He has fought only once since, that October in victory over Tim Tszyu.
“I’ve seen him,” Baraou continued. “He done a great job; he’s proved many times. He stopped, also, his fight against Jack Culcay – Jack Culcay was a tough one, and he was able to back it up and then come after this fight. He has showed what he’s made of. He’s tough; very strong; physically as well, you can tell, and he’s there for it and he has done it many times. I just see what makes the guy very good.
“It’s a tough one. Josh Kelly has the skill to pull this off, but lately, the thing’s he’s been showing isn’t enough to beat this guy. If he really can step up he can beat this guy, ‘cause this guy has been showing it in his fights. Josh has all the skill to beat him but it’s up to him to show it. I can’t really pick one.
“If you ask me I would say Murtazaliev [wins], but the skills – a fighter like Josh could win, but you need a strong mind for that.
“Down the road,” he added, “everything goes to plan, of course [I’d like the winner].”
