The good news for Bakhram Murtazaliev is that he’s finally found a divisional rival willing to get in the ring with him.
The bad news is that he’s yet to find a promoter interested in the matchup.
BoxingScene has confirmed that an August 19 purse bid hearing has been assigned for Murtazaliev’s IBF-ordered mandatory junior middleweight title defense against Erickson Lubin. The development comes after the assigned 15-day negotiation period elapsed without a deal in place for the intriguing matchup.
Russia’s Murtazaliev, 23-0 (17 KOs), is promoted by Main Events and managed by Egis Klimas. Lubin, 27-2 (19 KOs), is represented in talks by Julian Levitt of ProBox. The former title challenger from the greater Orlando, Florida area previously fought under the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) banner since its 2015 inception.
All involved parties were originally contacted on July 21 to begin talks for the overdue mandatory title fight. While both boxers are on board for the contest, a lack of financial interest has left matters grounded pending the results of the forthcoming purse bid.
Murtazaliev, 32, has not fought since his highest-profile win to date, a crushing third-round knockout of former WBO titlist Tim Tszyu last October 19 in Orlando. Their PBC on Prime Video headliner saw Murtazaliev floor Tszyu four times in forcing the stoppage.
The win marked Murtazliev’s first defense of the IBF 154lbs belt he claimed in an eleventh-round knockout of Germany’s Jack Culcay last April 6 on the road in Falkansee, Germany.
Murtazaliev was the leading contender for the IBF belt that was vacated in November 2023 by former undisputed champ Jermell Charlo. The move ended a four-year wait since he was installed as the top contender in November 2019.
A series of step-aside offers saw Murtazaliev appear on the non-televised portion of PBC undercards while Charlo was provided with a path to fully unify the 154lbs titles.
The IBF intervened in 2023, after Charlo’s failed attempt to dethrone undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, 63-2-2 (39 KOs). Charlo instead relinquished all of his belts and has not fought since the lopsided defeat to Alvarez.
Lubin, 29, became the mandatory challenger after an 11th round knockout of unbeaten Ardreal Holmes Jnr on May 10 in his Kissimmee hometown.
The win was the third straight following a ninth-round stoppage defeat to Sebastian Fundora in their April 2022 slugfest. Included in his current run was a twelve-round decision win over then-undefeated Jesus Ramos Jnr in a September 2023 WBA title eliminator.
The fact that a title shot did not immediately follow was hardly surprising or even a new experience. Lubin went through the same ordeal during a previous six-fight win streak that included three separate WBC title eliminators.
The lone major title fight for Lubin resulted in his first-round knockout defeat. He was stopped in the first round by Charlo, who held the WBC 154lbs title at the time of their October 2017 clash.
Neither Muratazliev nor Lubin can enter another fight during the ordered period, per sanctioning body rules covering mandatory title fights and purse bids.
