Bakhram Murtazaliev’s TRAINER, Roma Kalantaryan, doubts that Terence Crawford will want to fight Bakhram because he is chasing big money fights with the joint super middleweight champion.
Crawford Won’t Fight Murtazaliev
Roman thinks Crawford won’t want to face Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs). He feels it would be an exciting fight for the fans, a big, powerful guy taking on a smaller, more skilled fighter.
If Crawford hadn’t had such a tough time in his debut at 154 against WBA junior middleweight champion Israel Madrimov on August 3, he might have agreed to fight Murtazaliev. But with the problems Crawford had against Madrimov, who didn’t win, he probably won’t agree to fight him before he retires.
He should know that 154 is not what he deserves, and, of course, 168. Obviously, Crawford’s goal in moving up to 168 is money, and it’s not a big deal if he loses.
Fighting Murtazaliev would be difficult for Crawford because he doesn’t have the strength to fight someone like this without causing a lot of damage.
Size and Strength Advantage of Murtazaliev
“After a fight like this I would have liked him to fight Terence Crawford but I don’t see Crawford fighting him. That fight would look very good,” said trainer Roma Kalantaryan speaking to On The Ropes Podcast about the fight he would like to fight against Bakhram Murtazaliev, the IBF junior middleweight champion.
“That fight will look like a big man [Murtazaliev] fighting a really small man [Crawford]. A big, powerful puncher fighting a very small, technical guy, and it’s going to be a crazy fight. The way I see Terence Crawford. He is after a lot of money now, I don’t know if it will happen. I hope it will happen but I don’t know,” said Romani.
Crawford will look much smaller in the ring with Murtazaliev, and will be providing more punching power. That could be a dominant fight for Crawford, 37, who isn’t as mobile as he used to be and won’t be able to beat Murtazaliev with grappling and grappling.
“On the other hand, you have Fundora and Spence. That fight is a real possibility because Fundira defeated Tszyu by split decision. Spence is coming off a losing streak, and hasn’t been active in a long time. So, I think that fight makes a lot of sense because Crawford is fighting for Crawford. He is chasing big money. We all know what he is chasing,” Roma said.
Fundora or Spence will only fight Murtazaliev if that is the best option for a good pay day. Excellent Turki Alalshikh may choose to match the winner of the December 21 fight between Israil Madrimov vs. Serhii Bohachuk vs. Spence-Fundora winner. Both have already fought in Turki’s Riyadh Season events.
“We will see. I hope we can get both as long as they give me enough time to prepare for this fight. We have enough time to prepare. We will be ready no matter who comes in,” said Roma.
Spence or Fundora would be willing to fight Murtazaliev if they were paid enough money by one of the promoters. The PBC will not pay them huge amounts of guaranteed money for the Murtazaliev fight. It would require His Highness Turki Alalshikh to finance a war involving Murtazaliev against one of them.
“We had 10 fights early in his 160-fight career, and every one of them ended early,” Rom said of Murtazaliev, who fought at middleweight earlier in his career. He took them all out.”
Murtazaliev should be ready to move up to 160 if he can fight Crawford and the winner of the Spence vs. Love it. The last thing Murtazaliev needs is to stay at 154, be avoided like the plague, and stick to defending against fighters the fans aren’t familiar with.
160 options
Janibek Alimkhanuly
Erislandy Lara
Carlos Adames
Hamzah Sheeraz
Chris Eubank Jr.
Most of those fighters may refuse to fight Murtazaliev, but not all. Others would agree to fight him.
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