by Keith Idec
BAKHRAM MURTAZALIEV felt completely uncomfortable the night he finally got his shot at the IBF super welterweight title.
Murtazaliev, a devout Muslim, faced Jack Culcay on April 6, the 27th day of Ramadan, which prohibited him from eating or drinking from sunrise to sundown for the final three-plus weeks of training camp and the day of their fight. The unbeaten Russian was weaker than ever when he entered the ring for their 12-round fight at Stadthalle Falkensee in Berlin, Germany.
Murtazaliev managed to add only eight pounds – approximately half the weight he typically packs on after a weigh-in – by the time he encountered Culcay. He also fought without his head trainer, Roman Kalantaryan, in his corner because a visa issue kept Kalantaryan from entering Germany.
Kalantaryan, who trains Murtazaliev at his gym in Glendale, California, instead watched a live stream of Murtazaliev-Culcay. He relayed instructions over the phone to Murtazaliev’s close friend and assistant trainer, Daniel Bagdasarov, who worked Murtazaliev’s corner.
“Overall, my conditioning was OK, but my body was empty,” Murtazaliev told Boxing News. “I had no fuel. I wasn’t even able to rehydrate the next day for the fight.”
After waiting four-plus years for his championship chance – a period in which he accepted four step-aside packages that approached $2 million combined for Murtazaliev and promoter Main Events – a determined Murtazaliev overcame those obstacles and knocked out Culcay in the 11th round. Murtazaliev, who will make his first title defense against Australia’s Tim Tszyu on Saturday night, was ahead on the cards of New Jersey’s Francis Jackson (99-91) and Poland’s Pawel Kardyni (96-94) through 10 rounds, but Germany’s Karoline Puetz had Culcay in front 96-95 entering the penultimate round.
An assertive Murtazaliev caught Culcay with a left hook that hurt him badly toward the end of the 11th session. Another left hook knocked Culcay backward and eventually down, into a corner. Culcay beat the count, but he stumbled forward, and referee Timo Habighorst halted the action with 10 seconds to go in the round.
The 39-year-old Culcay (33-5, 14 KOs) lost by knockout for the first time in 14 years as a pro.
“The ring is the same wherever you go, so it doesn’t really matter that I went to Germany,” Murtazaliev said. “The thing that mattered to me is they made me fight in Ramadan. And it was on the 27th day, and my body was not in my best shape that I could be in. I don’t know if they did this on purpose or not, but what’s done is done.”
By “they,” Murtazaliev meant AGON Sports, which won an IBF purse bid and staged the fight where it promotes Ecuador’s Culcay, who has long resided and trained in Germany.
Murtazaliev (22-0, 16 KOs) will square off against Australia’s Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) in the 12-round main event of a Premier Boxing Champions card at Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida. PBC’s three-bout stream is scheduled to start at 1am GMT on Prime Video (8 p.m. ET in the United States).
The 31-year-old Murtazaliev feels fresher mentally and physically as he heads toward this fight with Tszyu, who is listed by several (U.S) sportsbooks as a 7-1 favourite. The IBF ordered Murtazaliev to make his first defence versus Tszyu, who is ranked fourth by the IBF, because third-ranked Erickson Lubin (28-2, 16 KOs) turned down this title opportunity due to a hand injury.
Though Tszyu lost his WBO super welterweight title to Sebastian Fundora in their bloody battle on March 30 in Las Vegas, Murtazaliev thinks this mandated match is the next best thing to a unification fight in the 154-pound division.
“If I cannot unify the titles,” Murtazaliev said, “of course, yes, he has a name and there’s a lot of hype around him.”
