IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev says nobody wants to “organize’ his IBF-ordered title defense against Erickson Lubin.
For this fight to happen, PBC will need some dates to show it on, and a big headliner to pair with it. Murtazaliev-Lubin isn’t a big enough fight on its own to be a main attraction.
Canelo-Crawford Undercard Needs Bakhram
What Murtazaliev and Lubin need is for Turki Alalshikh to materialize and add them to one of his Riyadh Season cards. Even if their fight is buried on one of the cards, at least it’ll get made.
The ideal spot would be on the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford card on September 13th. It’s an event that is totally devoid of quality on the undercard. It’s essentially the main event, packaged with a thrown-together undercard.
Adding Murtazaliev-Lubin to the event would be an immediate improvement, perhaps even outshining the main event in terms of entertainment value for the fans. You can count on Murtazaliev and Lubin going to war. We already know that Crawford is going to box Canelo and borrow from the Mayweather playbook. Bakhram vs. Lubin would save the day.
Bro @EricksonHammerL , nobody wants to organize our fight? 🤣
— Bakhram Murtazaliev (@bakhram95) August 5, 2025
The undefeated Bakkhram (23-0, 17 KOs) has had bad luck since knocking out former WBO 154-lb champion Tim Tszyu last October. He’s dealt with a hand injury and bouts against Josh Kelly and Vergil Ortiz Jr., failing to materialize. Now, it’s a broadcast issue that is delaying Murtazaliev’s title defense against Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs).
Why Bakhram Murtazaliev is Avoided
The reputation that Bakhram has developed as the boogeyman of the 154-lb division is another reason why he’s failed to capitalize on his victory over Tszyu. The way that he destroyed Tim is intimidating to the other top fighters. None of the big names wanted to fight him.
It appears that Murtazaliev will sit for more than a year before he finally fights. In October, it’ll have been a year since his victory over Tszyu. At this rate, Bakhram might be lucky if he fights at all in 2026.
Lubin can’t be happy about this. He’s clawed his way back to the IBF mandatory position by winning his last three fights after being stopped in the ninth round by Sebastian Fundora in 2022. That fight was a big setback for Erickson, as he’d come back from his embarrassing first-round knockout loss to Jermell Charlo in 2017, winning his last six fights before the defeat to Fundora.
Last Updated on 08/06/2025
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