Discussions regarding Bakhram Murtazaliev-Josh Kelly evolving ‘daily’

Josh Kelly’s chances of being the next challenger to the IBF junior-middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev are “50-50”, according to his trainer and manager Adam Booth.

The 31 year old has, Booth also explained, remained in the gym since stopping Romania’s Flavius Brea inside a round earlier in June because of the prospect of testing himself against the feared champion from Russia. 

Discussions regarding the potential match-up – Murtazaliev, 32, has been inactive since defeating Australia’s Tim Tszyu in three rounds in October – are “ongoing”, and partly because of the possibility of him instead fighting his mandatory challenger Erickson Lubin.

Booth, however, is determined to secure a world-title fight for a long-promising fighter who has fought and won twice in under nine months – Ishmael Davis was his previous opponent – and, to that end, is consistently in contact with Murtazaliev’s team.

“It feels like a 50-50 at the moment,” Booth told BoxingScene. “It’s got a good chance of coming off, but it’s also got a chance of – Erickson Lubin is the mandatory. That may get put in first. I hope it doesn’t, and I hope Josh gets the shot at Murtazaliev. It’s 50-50. It’s a daily thing at the moment.

“After his last fight I reached out to [Murtazaliev’s promoter] Kathy Duva, and started conversations. ‘We’d love to try and make that fight,’ and there’s conversations happening. It’s ongoing. 

“We’re waiting for some answers from the elements that need to be behind the fight – sometimes that just takes a little bit longer. You can’t just click your fingers and make a world-title fight. I hope it comes off – I really do.”

Murtazaliev’s two title fights have been in Germany and the United States, but asked if England’s Kelly was expecting to travel to be his opponent, Booth responded: “Not necessarily.”

“It’s kept him in the gym, and he’s kept his weight down,” he added of his leading fighter’s desire to test himself against an opponent who increasingly appears at risk of being avoided by his rivals. “He wants it. He knows he can win that fight.”