Murtazaliev Brings IBF Title Into Hostile Newcastle Setting – Josh Kelly Calm

This fight comes down to an IBF champion returning after fifteen silent months against a challenger feeding off home noise, with the unanswered question held back until the opening rounds force it into the open.

Bakhram Murtazaliev arrives in Newcastle with the belt and very little recent ring time, a detail hovering beneath the build up without ever being pushed forward. He has not boxed since October 2024. The promotion leans on his record and the authority of the title, treating the gap as settled ground rather than a live variable. Inside gyms, that absence never gets waved away so easily.

Saturday brings the first championship fight in the North East for a decade, and the arena is already spoken for. Josh Kelly has walked through fight week like a fighter who expects the room to lean his way from the first bell. Murtazaliev has stayed compact, letting past rounds speak. That works when timing comes back on cue. It gets harder when it does not.

What does fifteen months do to a champion’s timing?

Time out cuts both ways. Some fighters come back sharp, others need a round or two to find distance and feel. Murtazaliev is testing that question on the road, in a building that will not wait politely for him to warm up. Early clinches, missed jabs, half-steps late, those things grow louder under local noise.

He brushed off the concern himself. “15 months out was a long time, but it went very well. I was training a lot and I am looking forward a lot to stepping in the ring on Saturday and do what I like to and what I love to do.” He smiled at the talk of trouble. “They’re confident, as you would expect. It makes me laugh a little bit about knocking me down. But let’s see what Saturday is going to bring and let’s see what’s after the fight.”

That confidence is earned. The risk sits in whether the first exchanges ask him questions before he has rhythm.

Why Kelly treats this as personal

Kelly has spoken like someone who feels aligned with the night. “This is where I belong. This is where I’m meant to be.” His words kept circling back to calm rather than tension. “I feel at home, I feel relaxed. This is everything I’ve visioned and everything I’ve thought about.” He even stripped the champion of myth. “If Bakram never boxed and he worked on a farm, I would work somewhere in a shopping center.”

Kelly believes the belt changes hands here. “I believe I will be the new IBF World Champion.” Belief does not win rounds. Pressure, tempo, and forcing the champion to work early can.

The fight answers itself once the jab starts landing and feet set. Until then, the layoff stays quiet and dangerous.

Weights

Running order – Live on DAZN

• Brad Casey 199.3 lbs / 90.40 kg vs Lee Roberts 196.3 lbs / 89.04 kg
• Lee Rogers 121.3 lbs / 55.02 kg vs Erick Omar Lopez 121.2 lbs / 54.98 kg
• Kiaran Macdonald 117.7 lbs / 53.39 kg vs Marius Vysniauskas 116.95 lbs / 53.05 kg
• Josh Blenkiron 134.8 lbs / 61.14 kg vs Robbie Colman 134.7 lbs / 61.10 kg
• Leo Atang 236 lbs / 107.05 kg vs Amine Boucetta 241.25 lbs / 109.43 kg
• Elif Nur Turhan 134.55 lbs / 61.03 kg vs Taylah Gentzen 134.15 lbs / 60.85 kg
• Josh Padley 129.7 lbs / 58.83 kg vs Jaouad Belmehdi 128.5 lbs / 58.29 kg
• Bakhram Murtazaliev 152.2 lbs / 69.04 kg vs Josh Kelly 153.65 lbs / 69.69 kg

Date: January 31, 2026
Start time: 5 pm local; 12 pm ET; 5 pm UK
Streaming platform: DAZN
Venue: Utilita Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne
Fight card: Bakhram Murtazaliev vs Josh Kelly