The International Boxing Federation (IBF) has reportedly ordered its reigning 154-pound titleholder Bakhram Murtazaliev to defend his belt against Tim Tszyu.
According to Dan Rafael of Fight Freaks Unite, Murtazaliev and Tszyu have been given 30 days to reach an agreement, putting promoters Main Events and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on alert. The development could end Tszyu’s search for an opponent ahead of his scheduled Sept. 22 headline event in Australia.
Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs), 29, was scheduled to headline the first standalone PBC show on Prime Video against Erickson Lubin (26-2, 18 KOs) in an IBF eliminator. However, Lubin withdrew from the yet-to-be-announced event due to injury.
The Australian previously held a junior middleweight title and successfully defended it in a 12-round unanimous decision win over Brian Mendoza. Tszyu’s attempt to unify the division marked the end of his reign when he lost a close split decision to titlist Sebastian Fundora.
Tszyu started the bout on a bright note but suffered a cut along the top of his scalp when he collided with Fundora’s elbow. His face was bloodied for most of the fight, which was likely a contributing factor to his loss.
Meanwhile, Murtazaliev (22-0, 16 KOs) has an opportunity for a high-profile title defense against Tszyu if both parties can reach an agreement within the stipulated 30 days. Russia’s Murtazaliev won the belt on the road by recording an 11th-round stoppage victory over Jack Culcay in Falkansee, Germany.
Prior to making his maiden world title bow, Murtazaliev had long pursued a fight with former undisputed 154-pound titlist Jermell Charlo, whose decision to vacate his belts offered the Russian the opportunity to fight for the vacant IBF strap.