Bakhram Murtazaliev vs Tim Tszyu Prediction: Undefeated Champ Will Lose for the First Time

On the night of October 20th, two boxers we already know – Bahram Murtazaliev and the son of the legendary champion Tim Tszyu – will fight for the IBF title. The fight will be in the first middleweight category (69kg).

Bakhram Murtazaliev won the IBF title when he knocked out Jack Culcay in his last bout. That fight took place in April this year and it was a very close, tight and incredibly entertaining match. The boxers went on the attack, conceded a lot - those were some heavy punches, but Bahram still had the edge. He kept up the pressure and in the eleventh round he still achieved his goal – got an early victory. By the way, it's not obvious what the judges would have decided if the fight had gone the distance. Murtazaliev hasn't lost a bout yet and has more experience in the USA than his opponent. He's been fighting since 2016.

Tim Tszyu has been a professional boxer since 2016 and has gradually been working his way towards the titles. He was doing well and things were going smoothly. Tim was being led very competently (up to the WBO belt), but in his last fight he got into trouble. Tszyu lost by split decision to Sebastian Fundora, who was as tall as a pro basketball player, and he was no longer the champion in spite of the fact that things were going well for him. Tim was faster and more accurate, but then accidentally hit his elbow and got a cut. After that, blood poured down his face and the pattern of the bout changed. A second consecutive defeat would close all avenues for Tim in the foreseeable future and put his ambitious plans far behind him. Therefore, underestimation was out of the question.

I know Bakhram brings the heat to the ring. If you hit him, he just keeps coming forward. It's tough to defeat guys like that, because they're so strong. I have a big challenge ahead of me, but I believe in my skills. Everything is going according to plan. There's no easy route to the top. If you want to get to the top and make big money, you have to be prepared to face challenges along the way.

Tim Tszyu

Bakhram's never faced opposition like this before, but Tszyu has met opponents who were at least as tough – Carlos Ocampo, Mendoza, and Fundora. If we look at their skills, they're pretty similar, so it'll come down to motivation and experience. As it turns out, we're in line with the bookmakers on this one. Tszyu is still the favourite. But what really interests us is something else. Both boxers will have a perfect plan for the fight, but as we all know, all plans go out the window when you get hit in the face a couple of times. So, after two or three rounds, we'll be for an emotional fight that could end unpredictably. We also know that both fighters have won most of their bouts by knockout. They're both very tough, with excellent timing, so it wouldn't be a surprise if one of them caught the moment for the decisive blow.