Tszyu Will Challenge Murtazaliev For The IBF Title On October 17th

It is reported that Tim Tszyu will challenge Bakhram Murtazaliev for the IBF junior middleweight belt on October 19 in Florida.

Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) will be fighting for the first time since losing his WBO 154-lb title in a 12-round decision loss to Sebastian ‘The Towering Inferno’ Fundora on March 30.

Murtazaliev is one of 154 known champions, but his title is still important. The other champions at 154 are currently tied, and Tszyu won’t have a shot against any of them yet.

Tszyu’s Three-Fight Plan

Alan Dawson reports that Tszyu will fight Murtazaliev (22-0, 16 KOs) on October 19. Tszyu gave his three-fight plan for the fight against these guys as follows:

1. Bakhram Murtazaliev
2. Erickson Lubin
3. Sebastian Fundora: Meet again

If Tszyu’s three-fight plan works out the way he wants it to, he could potentially have a rematch with Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) in the second half of 2025. That’s when he still holds the WBC and WBO 154-lb titles. . Things could go downhill if Terence Crawford fights Fundora before Tszyu gets a chance.

Lubin (26-2, 18 KOs) does not need Tszyu if he is able to win the IBF title because he will be doing him a favor by giving him that fight. It would be better for Tsyzu to start pushing the big names in the 154-lb division immediately and leave Lubin alone.

IBF Title: Tszyu’s Bargaining Chip

Tszyu needs the IBF 154-lb title as a bargaining chip to get lucrative fights against Fundora, Errol Spence, and Terence Crawford. Those guys won’t fight Tszyu until he gets the IBF title because of his loss last March to Fundora.

That was a fight that Tszyu probably would have won by knockout if he hadn’t suffered a concussion earlier in the tournament. He was submitting to the 6’6″ Fundora with powerful shots in the first two rounds. However, Tszyu’s cut to the scalp in the second round changed the fight, making him fight sloppy, and that played in Fundora’s favor.