Comments Thread For: Underdog Josh Kelly dethrones Bakhram Murtazaliev in Newcastle

[IronDanHamza]

Never in a million years did I ever think Josh Kelly was capable of winning a world title.

Fair play, can't imagine he keeps it very long.

[Someone88]

Wow! Great win for Kelly and congratulations to him on winning the IBF super welterweight title!

[joseph5620]

I see. So you’re saying Murtazaliev was lying, basically.

Basically you're saying Ennis was lying too. I see.

Did Ortiz duck him too?

[dannnnn]

Murtazaliev is only good at creeping in close using his jab and then work. Take his jab away and he's not left with much else. Kelly took his jab away for most rounds and he was useless.

Murtazaliev must have taken away Kelly's jab as well then, along with all his other punches because he barely threw anything of note the entire fight.

It's oft debated where to draw the line between boxing off the back foot and running. This fight was a good example of the difference, imo. Kelly was most assuredly running.

Bakhram looked crap (and I've never bought into his bogeyman hype either, for the record), couldn't cut the ring off and became increasingly desperate and wide with his punches as the fight went on. He missed a lot and looked bad doing it. But he was still doing something. He was proactive in at least trying to land punches. Kelly was busy playing the game not of make-them-miss-and-make-them-pay but of make-them-miss-and-then-make-them-keep-chasing-you. If Murtazaliev had circled the perimeter of the ring as Kelly did they wouldn't have met all night. In this instance, judges ought to favour the one who is at least trying to make a fight of it and not the one who is doing their utmost to prevent anything from happening.

Much of Murtazaliev's work was inconsequential, but he was throwing - and landing - jabs and short straight right hands to the body all night. Nothing big or hurtful, but scoring blows. Kelly would throw one or two flurries per round (sometimes even just a solitary clean jab) and act like he was winning. He wasn't, or at least he wouldn't have been if this fight had taken place anywhere else in the world, and I say that as a Brit. He boxed like a man trying only to survive.