Josh Kelly Calls Out Ryan Garcia After Controversial IBF Win

IBF junior middleweight champion seeks Garcia fight after narrow decision over Murtazaliev

Josh Kelly wasted no time hunting for the biggest payday possible, calling out Ryan Garcia to jump to 154 pounds for a shot at the IBF junior middleweight title. It is an ambitious move, especially since Kelly’s own win in Newcastle left plenty of debate about whether he deserved the belt in the first place.

Ryan dominated Mario Barrios last Saturday to take his first world title, winning a lopsided 12-round decision for the WBC welterweight belt. A win like that grabs everyone’s attention, and Kelly moved fast to try to force himself into the conversation. Since Garcia hasn’t said a word in response, the callout looks more like Kelly trying to get a piece of the spotlight than a real fight being made.

“Watched the Ryan Garcia fight, thought it was a great performance, want a chance at becoming two-weight world champion, I’ll be waiting, battle of the pretty boys baby,” Kelly wrote on X.

Strictly as a business move, the logic is clear. Ryan represents a bigger payday than anyone else at 154, and a UK setting would offer Kelly the same home comforts he had in Newcastle. The hurdle for Garcia is the jump in weight. Moving up two divisions immediately after finding success at 147 is a tall order, particularly against an opponent who relies on movement and clinching to dictate a slower tempo.

Kelly took the IBF belt on January 31 by majority decision over Bakhram Murtazaliev in Newcastle, but the atmosphere in the arena suggested a different story. Throughout the fight, Kelly relied on circling and clinching while landing sporadic single shots, struggling to keep a pressing Murtazaliev at bay. The outcome remained in doubt until the final bell, and the mixed reaction from the crowd as the scores were announced only emphasized how narrow the win really was.

One British judge turned in a rare 10-10 score for the 12th round, a scorecard rarely seen in a world title fight. The remaining two officials split that final frame 10-9 for each man. Those razor-thin differences proved vital in a result that many ringside felt could have favored Murtazaliev.

Given the circumstances, Kelly’s call for Garcia feels like a reach. Whether Garcia finds any value in taking the bait is a different story.