Bakhram Murtazaliev faces Josh Kelly on Saturday, January 31, live from the Utilita Arena Newcastle in Newcastle, England. Murtazaliev puts his IBF super welterweight title on the line.
Undefeated 33-year-old Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) makes the first defense of his belt in his first fight since October 2024, when he dominated and stopped Tim Tszyu to claim the vacant strap. Once-beaten, 31-year-old British challenger Kelly (17-1-1, 9 KOs) makes his first bid to win one of boxing’s four major titles and targets his eighth win in a row.
In the co-feature, England’s Josh Padley (17-1, 5 KOs) and Jaouad Belmehdi (23-2-3, 11 KOs) of France clash for the vacant EBU European super featherweight title.
On the undercard, Elif Nur Turhan (12-0, 8 KOs) of Turkiye defends her IBF lightweight title against Taylah Gentzen (8-1, 3 KOs) of Australia.
Additionally, Leo Atang (3-0, 3 KOs) of the UK and Amine Boucetta (9-17) of Morocco square off at heavyweight.
Murtazaliev vs Kelly results
Get Murtazaliev vs Kelly full fight card results below.
Main card
- Josh Kelly def. Bakhram Murtazaliev by majority decision (115-111, 114-113, 113-113) | Watch video
- Josh Padley def. Jaouad Belmehdi by TKO (R2, 2:35)
- Elif Nur Turhan def. Taylah Gentzen by split decision (96-94, 93-97, 98-92)
- Leo Atang def. Amine Boucetta by KO (R3, 0:39)
Prelims
- Josh Blenkiron def. Robbie Colman by points (96-95)
- Kiaran MacDonald def. Marius Vysniauskas by points (40-35)
- Lee Rogers def. Erick Omar Lopez by points (60-54)
- Bradley Casey def. Lee Roberts by points (40-36)
Murtazaliev vs Kelly live blog
Josh Kelly Immediate Reaction
Watch what Josh Kelly had to say following his victory over Bakhram Murtazaliev.
Josh Kelly defeats Bakhram Murtazaliev by decision to become new champion
British Olympian Josh Kelly (18-1-1, 9 KOs) defeats Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-1, 17 KOs) by majority decision to become the new IBF super welterweight champion. After 12 rounds, the judges scored the fight 115-111, 114-113, and 113-113.
On his way to victory, Kelly scored a knockdown in the fourth round, and suffered a knockdown himself in the ninth round.
Josh Padley TKOs Jaouad Belmehdi in second round
England’s Josh Padley (18-1, 6 KOs) defeats France’s Jaouad Belmehdi (23-3-3, 11 KOs) by second-round TKO to claim the vacant EBU European super featherweight title. The time of the stoppage was 2:35 of the round.
The referee waved the fight off as Padley dominated and dropped Belmehdi with a series of punches.
Elif Nur Turhan defeats Taylah Gentzen by decision to retain title
Elif Nur Turhan (13-0, 8 KOs) of Turkiye defeats Australia’s Taylah Gentzen (8-2, 3 KOs) by split decision to retain her IBF lightweight title. After 10 rounds, the judges scored the fight 96-94, 93-97, and 98-92.
Leo Atang KOs Amine Boucetta in third round
In the main card opener, Leo Atang (4-0, 4 KOs) of the UK defeats Morocco’s Amine Boucetta (9-18) by third-round KO at heavyweight. The official time was 39 seconds of the round.
Murtazaliev vs Kelly prelims results
Among the Murtazaliev vs Kelly prelims, Josh Blenkiron (8-0-1) defeated Robbie Colman (7-1, 1 KO) by points (96-95) to win the vacant Northern Area lightweight title.
Kiaran MacDonald (1-0) made a successful pro debut, defeating Marius Vysniauskas (3-28, 1 KO) by points (40-35) at bantamweight.
Lee Rogers (7-0, 2 KOs) defeated Erick Omar Lopez (20-35-3, 12 KOs) by points (60-54) at super bantamweight.
Kicking off the action, Bradley Casey (4-0, 1 KO) defeated Lee Roberts (1-4, 1 KO) by points (40-36) at cruiserweight.
Murtazaliev vs Kelly: How to watch and start time
Murtazaliev vs Kelly airs live on DAZN. The local start time in the UK is 7:00 p.m. GMT, which is 2:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. PT in the U.S.
You can watch the free prelims below, starting two hours before the main card, with results added as the stream concludes.