When is Bakhram Murtazaliev vs. Josh Kelly?
Bakhram Murtazaliev vs. Josh Kelly is on Saturday, January 31. The broadcast will begin at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (7 p.m. GMT).
What channel is Bakhram Murtazaliev vs. Josh Kelly on?
Bakhram Murtazaliev vs. Josh Kelly will stream on DAZN.
Where is Bakhram Murtazaliev vs. Josh Kelly?
The fight is taking place at Utilita Arena Newcastle in Newcastle, England.
Who is Bakhram Murtazaliev?
Bakhram Murtazaliev, 23-0 (17 KOs), is the IBF junior middleweight titleholder. He had a fantastic 2024 that was seemingly squandered in 2025. He’s hoping to get his career back in gear in 2026.
Murtazaliev is a 33-year-old from Russia who lives near Los Angeles, California. In April 2024, he traveled to Germany and knocked out Jack Culcay in the 11th round to capture the vacant IBF belt. That made him a desirable opponent for Tim Tszyu, who was returning from losing his world title to Sebastian Fundora and wanted to jump straight back in.
Murtazaliev took Tszyu into the deep end and wouldn’t let him float. In the main event of an October 2024 show on Amazon’s Prime Video, Murtazaliev dropped Tszyu four times and scored a stunning third-round TKO.
Murtazaliev hasn’t been seen since.
Yes, he was recovering from a hand injury suffered in sparring before the Tszyu bout. But he was back in the gym as of last January. Whether Murtazaliev is the boogeyman at 154lbs, or if his inactivity is the product of being with a promoter (Main Events) that doesn’t have a network contract, he didn’t fight at all last year. It didn’t help that Erickson Lubin had been in line for a shot at Murtazaliev but ultimately pulled out of the purse bid process in order to face Vergil Ortiz Jnr instead.
There continues to be plenty of interest in his weight class. On the same day that Murtazaliev defends against Josh Kelly, there will be a unification bout between Abass Baraou (WBA) and Xander Zayas (WBO). As for Sebastian Fundora (WBC), he will likely face Keith Thurman next. Boxing continues to wait to see whether Ortiz and Jaron “Boots” Ennis will be able to reach a deal.
The winner of Murtazaliev vs. Kelly will also owe a fight to the victor of an elimination bout this April between Brandon Adams and Caoimhin Agyarko.
Who is Josh Kelly?
Josh Kelly, 17-1-1 (9 KOs), is a 31-year-old junior middleweight from Sunderland, England, who is ranked third by the IBF – the two spots above him are vacant – and first by the WBO.
Kelly’s amateur career peaked with competing in the 2016 Olympics, where he won one fight in the welterweight tournament before losing to the eventual gold medalist, Daniyar Yeleussinov. Kelly turned pro in 2017 and was moved quickly – perhaps too quickly – with optimism about his amateur pedigree clouding a need for further seasoning. That need showed up in 2019, when Kelly was held to a draw against Ray Robinson, and again in early 2021, when Kelly was stopped in the sixth round by David Avanesyan.
But moving up to junior middleweight has revitalized Kelly, who is on a seven-fight winning streak (one bout against a late replacement opponent took place at middleweight). He gave Troy Williamson his first loss in 2022. He did the same to that aforementioned late replacement, Ishmael Davis, in 2024. Kelly fought just once last year, and he only got in two minutes of action before putting away the 24-1 Flavius Biea.
What other fights are on the undercard of Bakhram Murtazaliev vs. Josh Kelly?
The undercard includes Elif Nur Turhan, 12-0 (8 KOs), making the first defense of her IBF lightweight title after seizing it in December with a stellar fifth-round of Beatriz Ferreira – capping a campaign that earned Nur Turhan BoxingScene’s Women’s Fighter of the Year award. Nur Turhan will face Taylah Gentzen, 8-1 (3 KOs), who has won two straight since a split decision loss to the 4-0 Shauna Browne in January 2025.
Also on this show: Josh Padley, 17-1 (5 KOs), is back for the third time since getting stopped by Shakur Stevenson last February. He will take on Jaouad Belmehdi, 23-2-3 (11 KOs).
The full list of undercard fights can be seen on BoxRec.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
