Bakhram Murtazaliev's team petitions IBF for immediate rematch with Josh Kelly

Bakhram Murtazaliev and his team are seeking justice following the end of his 154lbs title reign.

BoxingScene has confirmed that representatives for the recently dethroned IBF beltholder have petitioned the sanctioning body for an immediate rematch with England’s Josh Kelly. The request came just four days after Kelly defeated the previously unbeaten Russian via majority decision on January 31 in Newcastle, England. 

The final scores (115-111 and 114-113 Kelly, 113-113 even) were in line with the general view of the fight. Few if any felt that Murtazaliev deserved the nod. However, his team took issue with judge Steve Gray’s conservative 10-10 scoring of the 12th and final round. A 10-9 scoring in favor of Murtazaliev would have resulted in a draw and his retaining the IBF 154lbs title. 

With the understanding that a protest of the fight outcome is out of the question, the team now pursue what they hope is a more attainable goal. 

“They requested that we order an immediate rematch under IBF Rule 5K,” an IBF spokesperson confirmed to BoxingScene. 

News of the petition was first reported by Fight Freaks Unite founder Dan Rafael. 

For those asking at home, IBF rule 5.K – covering rematches – states that “the Championships Chairman and the President, in their discretion, may direct two contestants to engage in a rematch for the Championship within a prescribed time.” 

In that vein, a second act is not out of the question. Kelly, 18-1-1 (9 KOs), entered the fight as the appointed challenger, since Murtazaliev, 23-1 (17 KOs)m was overdue on a mandatory title defense. Thus, Kelly would be in the voluntary phase for his first title defense.

Matchroom Boxing, who promoted the show, has insisted that Kelly was already on board to face WBA interim titleholder Jaron “Boots” Ennis, 35-0 (31 KOs). Such a bout has been pitched as the backup plan if the unbeaten Philadelphia native is unsuccessful in convincing Vergil Ortiz Jnr, 24-0 (22 KOs) and his team to put pen to paper for their highly anticipated showdown. 

For the moment, Kelly will at least have to wait out the IBF’s decision on this matter. 

The argument presented by Murtazaliev and promoter Main Events is understandable from the perspective that assigned judges are normally discouraged from scoring 10-10 rounds. However, that expectation is limited mostly to North America-staged title fights, whereas even rounds are – while still infrequent – more common in other countries. 

Further going against their case, Gray’s 10-10 score was right in line with the two other judges’ view of the bout. 

New York-based judge John Basile (115-111 Kelly) scored the round 10-9 for Kelly to come to his 115-111 tally in favor of the newly crowned titlist. Basile scored the 11th and 12th round in favor of the Brit. Poland’s Pawel Kardyni (113-113) had it 10-9 for Murtazaliev, resulting in him being the only of the three judges to not score the contest in favor of Kelly.

Additionally, judge Gray was the only one of the three officials to award the 11th round to Murtazaliev. 

The bout marked Murtazaliev’s first piece of ring action since his October 2024 destruction of former WBO 154lbs titleholder Tim Tszyu in Orlando, Florida. Murtazaliev floored the second-generation boxer four times en route to a career-altering third-round knockout. 

It marked the first – and only – successful defense of the title Murtazaliev won earlier that April in an 11th-round knockout of Jack Culcay in Falkansee, Germany. 

Given that Main Events’ significant fall from grace post-Covid, Murtazaliev’s entire run as a contender and titleholder has taken place on shows presented by other promoters. Following his November 2019 title elimination win over Jorge Fortea, Murtazaliev spent the next three years on the non-televised portion of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) undercards while its titleholders faced in-house competition which ultimately led to an undisputed champion. Murtazaliev and Main Events were well compensated for their willingness to step aside, but never rewarded with a shot at eventual divisional king Jermell Charlo.

Instead, Murtazaliev had to wait out Charlo’s (and the IBF’s) decision to render the title vacant before receiving his overdue shot. His ordered fight with Jack Culcay went to a purse bid hearing, won by AGON Sports who staged the fight in April 2024, which meant Murtazaliev – a devout Muslim – was forced to train throughout and fight during the Holy Ramadan season.

At the very least, he was afforded two fights in 2024. His 2025 campaign was nothing but disappointment. 

Murtazaliev was strung along by the team surrounding mandatory challenger Erickson Lubin before it was decided on the day of the purse bid that Lubin would instead face Vergil Ortiz. IBF officials then immediately appointed Kelly as the de facto mandatory challenger. That matter stretched out longer than necessary before the two sides reached an agreement for this fight.

There is an argument that Murtazaliev has been failed by the sport over the past several years. Ironically, the suggestion that he was wronged last weekend in the UK could prove to be the weakest claim of that discussion.

Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.