Murtazaliev vs Josh kelly IBF light middle 31 Jan

Hope I am completely wrong but I think Kelly is going to be wiped out.

He will need to be on his bike for 36 minutes and cycle 10 times quicker than Hughie Fury wearing a skirt to hear the final bell.

 

3 different shows that night.

Murtazaliev v Kelly
Azim v Lemos
Teo v Shakur

…and I’m going to the fcking dogs for my aunties 50th so will miss them. Sound.

 

Built different in Yorkshire pal.

 

I agree, but unfortunately that's the DAZN effect. Out of sight, out of mind, forgotten about.

Most people won't even be aware this is happening let alone attend or tune in. Make no doubt about it, boxing in the UK is on life support these days

 

We need Sky to get back into boxing.

 

Josh Kelly was a big name around 2017-19 when on Sky. He’s now fighting for a world title yet his profile is 100x less thanks to DAZN.

 

I love the style matchup. Murtalaev has a similar style to avenysian in that he presses. I think its a tall task. I'll side with murataliev. I like joshes style.

 

I'd be very surprised to see this fight be remotely competitive. Kelly got marched down by Avenesyan at 147; now he's fighting a much bigger puncher up at 154, who is a world champion and an entire level above Avenesyan. I've seen nothing from Kelly that makes me believe he should be anywhere near this level. I'm not sure how he's actually managed to land this title shot.

Not to mention, Adam Booth is in his corner, more of a life coach/podcast guru/social media stylist than a boxing strategist. There's no case I can make for Kelly here, but he comes across as a great bloke, so I hope he doesn't get too badly hurt. I can see it unfolding like Kovalev vs Cleverly.

 

I recognise Murtazaliev as the heavy favourite, but there is a nagging voice inside me that says Kelly can pull it off (and yes I have been taking my medication). People bring up the Avanesyan fight but, especially given Kelly has moved up in weight since then, I think Kelly has evolved and is less likely to crumble under pressure, as evidenced by his win vs Williamson. At the very least I feel Kelly will defy those who say he will be blown out in short order and the fight will be competitive.

 

When he was with Wasserman they had him appearing on Channel 5, maybe with the idea of building a wider following. After a couple of appearances they seemed to shift focus to Harlem Eubank. Not sure what happened, whether they couldn't get him the fights, maybe signing with Matchroom was the price for the title shot?

He's a little unlucky in my view. A lovely skilled boxer, but no power and therefore has to fight 12 perfect rounds if he's going to beat any of the bigger hitters in the division. I'll be rooting for him to somehow get a win, but I wouldn't be betting on it.

 

I think Kelly will be boxing well and ahead on points before being caught and stopped late on.

Hasn’t been active enough. Fought 1 round in the last 16 months. 4 fights in over 3 years.