The trainer of Bakhram Murtazaliev has backed Vergil Ortiz Jnr to overcome Erickson Lubin when they meet on Saturday evening.
Ortiz Jnr and the 30-year-old Lubin fight at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas in an occasion that will prove significant in the ongoing formation of the appealing landscape at 154lbs.
Xander Zayas and Abass Baraou are on course to contest their respective WBO and WBA titles on January 31 – the same day on which Murtazaliev, the IBF champion, is expected to defend his title against Josh Kelly of England.
Lubin ultimately prioritised fighting the heavy-handed Ortiz Jnr, 27, when he could have fought Murtazaliev for a world title as his mandatory challenger.
The latter’s trainer Roma Kalantaryan considers Ortiz Jnr the favourite on account of his educated pressure, and he believes that the biggest threat the experienced Lubin poses to him owes to his southpaw stance.
“He’s a pressure fighter,” Kalantaryan told BoxingScene. “Most of the time he breaks people with his pressure. The only problem he’s had so far was [in 2024, Serhii] Bohachuk, because Bohachuk’s pressure was a little different to the type of pressure he’d faced.
“Lubin’s not a pressure fighter – he’s going to be able to pressure him. The only problem I see is maybe the southpaw situation, but I’m pretty sure he’s prepared well, so I don’t think he’s going to have a problem.
“Lubin fought a similar fighter [in 2023, Jesus] Ramos, who’s also a pressure fighter – a good fighter – and Lubin ended up winning that fight, but he didn’t look as good. I didn’t even think he won that fight. But I’m not going to argue with the judges’ decision – it was a very close fight. I’d say Ortiz is a little bit of a better fighter, so maybe Ortiz is going to get the best out of him.
“We’ve seen Ortiz against [in February, Israil] Madrimov. Madrimov is a fighter who moves a lot – so does Lubin, but I think Madrimov moves a lot more, and is a more tricky fighter than Lubin, and he was able to handle this pressure very well against Madrimov, so I don’t see a problem against Lubin, honestly.
“On the other hand, we have seen both of them get dropped before, so any of them can go down anytime if something lands; if they don’t see something landing. Other than that I think it’s going to be a decision or stoppage by Ortiz. I think Ortiz has got this.
“Ortiz takes it, unless he gets robbed, which I don’t think’s going to happen.”
Kalantaryan, of Armenia, and Murtazaliev are already preparing for Kelly out of his gym in Glendale, Los Angeles and, asked why he believes Lubin instead favoured a fight with Ortiz Jnr, he responded: “Because, even if he loses against Ortiz, he’s probably going to look much better than he’d look with us, ‘cause with us he’d probably get knocked out. With Ortiz, maybe [he’d lose] on points – maybe he’s going to look a little better.
“He’s going to be able to land a few shots [against Ortiz]. It’s hard to say, but because in America Ortiz is a big name right now – he has a nice following with the Mexican people following him – it’s a bigger fight, probably. Even though it’s not even a world-title fight, he had a chance for a world title and said ‘No’ and went for the other [fight], so maybe they’re paying him better. Maybe he thinks he has better chances. I’m not sure.
“Whoever wins this, I’m pretty sure they’re going to call out Bakhram’s name, like everybody does, and after they’ve called out Bakhram’s name, they’re going to get the fight offered, and as soon as they get the fight offered they’re going to disappear like every single fighter, for the past year.”
