Josh Kelly Steps Into Danger Against Bakhram Murtazaliev

In reality, it feels closer to a sentence.

Matchroom Boxing reinforced that sense this week by sharing footage of Murtazaliev in training ahead of the January 31 fight. The power looked intact. The balance looked heavy. There was no sign of rust after fourteen and a half months away from the ring. He looked like a fighter who has spent a long time waiting for someone to finally agree to stand in front of him.

That wait was not accidental. Since stopping Tszyu in October 2024, Murtazaliev has struggled to secure meaningful opposition, with big names at 154 pounds choosing not to engage. The belt did not make him safer. It made him easier to avoid, and Kelly was the one willing to sign when others did not. At 31, opportunities at the world level do not come in bulk, and Kelly understood what turning this one down would likely mean.

For Kelly, the terrain shifts immediately. He enters the fight at 31 on a seven fight winning run, but the rebuild since his 2021 loss to David Avanesyan came against domestic and European level opposition. He boxed with more discipline and control during that run, but he has not dealt with sustained pressure or genuine stopping power at the world level since the Avanesyan fight.

Murtazaliev offers both, and he does not disguise it. He carries power in each hand, a point he drove home against Tszyu when an injured right forced him to rely on his left. The result was repeated knockdowns and a fight that ended before Tszyu could adjust. That performance did not elevate Murtazaliev’s profile. It turned him into a problem.

Kelly will have home advantage at Newcastle Arena. The crowd will be loud. The support will be real. None of that changes how Murtazaliev fights. He does not engage with the room. He closes distance and waits for damage to appear.

This is the level Kelly has said he wants, and it is the level where one mistake can change a career in a single round.

If Murtazaliev knocks Kelly out at any point, especially early, it would change his career immediately. A loss like that does not send a fighter back to rebuilding mode. It drops him onto a level where opportunities shrink, and recovery is slow. Kelly knows that from experience. His sixth round stoppage loss to Avanesyan in 2021 took years to escape. This time, the damage could arrive faster and be more difficult to reverse.

It is a brave choice. It is also the kind of fighters make when there is nowhere left to hide.