Tim Tszyu takes on the dangerous puncher IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev tonight in a must-win for the former WBO champ at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida.
There’s an argument to be made that Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) didn’t need to take a risky fight like this, and he should have chosen to take a tune-up to regroup after his recent loss to Sebastian Fundora on March 30th.
Tszyu may be too brave for his own good. If he loses tonight, he’ll throw his career in the dumpster. He needs Murtazaliev’s title as a bargaining chip to get the bigger money fights against the other champions, but he chose a tough one.
“He understands what he has in front of him. This is not an easy fight. I think Tim Tszyu is going to be prepared for anything Murtazaliev can dish out and vice versa,” said Chris Algieri to Probox TV about this Saturday night’s fight.
“Murtazaliev is still really tall and he can really punch. So, it’s not an easy fight. You’ve got a tall guy that can really punch with the right hand. It’s very different from Fundora obviously, but it’s a tall guy, and you got to close the distance. I think Tim Tszyu is 5’8 1/2″. He’s not very tall at 154. So, he’s going to have a disadvantage in this fight as well.”
The height of the 6’0″ Murtazaliev could be a problem for Tszyu, but the reach and the powerful right hand could be the real issues for him. Murtazaliev can really punch with both hands, especially his right. If he’s able to hit Tszyu as often as he did Jack Culcay, he’s not going to make it out of this fight with his hand raised.
“It’s a comeback fight for Tim Tszyu. Everyone is expecting him to look like the Tim Tszyu of old. I think we’ll be able to see that,” said Antonio Tarver to Fighthype about this Saturday’s fight between Tim Tszyu and Bakhram Murtazaliev.
“This is Tim’s opportunity to show the world that he’s still one of the biggest names at 154. After this fight, we can get excited about who he’s facing next, but Tim after perform like the ex-champion that he is.”
This is a fight where Tszyu needs to show that he’s capable of still beating the top guys in the 154-lb division because he kind of got exposed a little by Sebastian Fundora on March 30th. That was really the first big test that Tszyu had been given during his career. Tszyu’s best wins had come against these fighters: Brian Mendoza, Tony Harrison, Terrell Gausha, Takeshi Inoue, Carlos Ocampo, Dennis Hogan, Steve Spark, and Jeff Horn. They are good fighters, but not A-level.
“It’s a huge fight because of the risk. Two fights back-to-back, if he loses, would be disastrous,” said Ben Damon of Main Events to Jai McAllister about Tszyu. “It’s a long way back. The Fundora fight, there are excuses for sure. His star probably grew out of that performance regardless of the result. But if he loses another one, that kind of goes away, and he’s just on the slide to a certain extent.
“So there’s a lot on the line for Tim Tszyu, and everyone invested in him and in his journey. There’s probably a school of thought that he could have gone a safer route with a comeback fight before launching straight into a world title fight against an undefeated guy like Bakhram. But he’s taking the risks like he’s done throughout. He wants to be busy, and wants to be in big fights. This is exactly that.
“He’s on the biggest stage as the A-side, and it’s a really tough fight against a guy who doesn’t know how to lose. He’s going to be resilient, and he’s going to try and be relentless,” said Damon about Murtazaliev. “He’s got a pretty awkward style as well. He’s a big, tall, super welterweight as well. He’s got a reach advantage and is obviously a lot bigger than time.
Murtazaliev is a pure slugger, and he doesn’t let up when he’s on the attack. Tszyu has the power to potentially hurt him if he can land enough of his big shots before he gets to him with salvos.
“the thing about him is he’s only had two fights at a very good level. Jack Culcay and the fight back in 2019, where he became mandatory for the very first time for this belt. Other than that, he’s really been passing the time. Step aside fights and building fights, but when he has gone to that top level, he’s won.
“Jack Culcay was slightly on the decline when he got him earlier this year, but he still stopped him in a world title fight in Germany with all the odds against him. It was during Ramadan. There were a lot of things that the German operation tried to do to unsettle him, and despite that, he won.”
Culcay still fought well despite being 38, and no longer in his prime, but Murtazaliev was too powerful for him and chopped him apart to get a knockout in their fight for the IBF 154-lb title.
“He’s a guy that isn’t coming to lose, and you could tell that this week with his team and his trainer. They’re clearly here to win. Off the back of a victory here, No Limit and Main Event wants to do is have a big homecoming fight for Tim later this year. That’s obviously enormously attractive to him and exciting for everyone involved.”
After ten years as a pro, Murtazaliev is finally getting his big-name opponent, who is willing to fight him. He’d never been able to attract any of the other well-known fighters in the division to face because he was too dangerous and didn’t have e anything to offer.
“Then you start to look at some big fights. It’s an exciting division,” said Damon.
Murtazaliev knows this is his chance to put himself in position for some big-money fights if he can defeat Tszyu tonight. So, he’s going to be fighting his heart out in this clash, looking to knock out Tszyu.
