Bakhram Murtazaliev
Borz
Bio
Bakhram Murtazaliev is the Russian-born Borz who held the IBF junior middleweight title from 2024 until the start of 2026. He is a proper Eastern European fighter in the classical sense — pressure, footwork, a brilliant right hand to the body, and a Mexican-Russian school of work-rate. Make no mistake, when Murtazaliev is on his game he is one of the toughest 154-pounders in the world to share a ring with.
He won the IBF strap by absolutely destroying Tim Tszyu in three rounds in Florida back in 2024, in one of the most one-sided championship performances of the modern era. He defended once before running into Josh Kelly in Newcastle in January 2026 and losing a tight majority decision in front of a partisan British crowd.
He is now back on the comeback trail with an IBF final eliminator against Brandon Adams ordered, purse bid scheduled for May 27, and the winner becoming mandatory to Kelly's belt. If Murtazaliev does his job, the rematch is one of the better 154-pound fights anyone could make in 2027.