Tim Tszyu vs Bakhram Murtazaliev fight prediction, odds, undercard, preview, start time, where to watch

Tim Tszyu’s rise to boxing superstardom was halted in his final outing when he dropped a split decision to Sebastian Fundora in a bloody war, losing the WBO junior middleweight title in the process. Tszyu will look to get back on track on Saturday when he takes on IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev.

Tszyu’s 2024 was rocky. The fight with Fundora came about at short notice when Tszyu’s original opponent for the March 30 date, Keith Thurman, pulled out of the fight due to injury. The towering Fundora presented a very different challenge to Thurman and a heavily bloodied Tszyu failed in the final score after sustaining a cut to his hairline early in the fight.

Tszyu was then scheduled to face Vergil Ortiz Jr. in a thrilling match in August, but was forced to withdraw from the bout while still recovering from injuries sustained against Fundora. It was then announced that Tszyu’s return would be in September against Erickson Lubin in an IBF-mandated eliminator. Lubin suffered a hand injury and wanted to postpone the fight until December, but the IBF ordered a fight between Murtazaliev and Tszyu.

The plan appears to be for Lubin to face the winner in early 2025, but that is far from a guarantee that Tszyu will be the new IBF champion.

Murtazaliev is undefeated as a professional and has won all of his 22 fights with 16 stoppage time victories. Murtazaliev was named the IBF No. 1 contender in November 2019 and made mandatory challenger in 2020, but had to wait until April to finally get his shot at the world title.

After Jermell Charlo was eventually stripped of his four world titles, Murtazaliev was given the chance to fight Jack Culcay for the vacant title, but had to do so while physically impaired as the fight was scheduled to take place at the end of Ramadan, which meant Murtazaliev – a devout Muslim – fasted throughout much of his camp and during the battle itself.

Murtazaliev appeared to lose steam midway through the bout with Culcay and the fight seemed to be spiraling out of his control as he scored a huge strike in the 11th round to earn the stoppage and the IBF Championship.

Let’s take a closer look at the rest of the undercard with the latest odds before moving on to a prediction and expert recommendation for the main event.

Murtazaliev vs. Tszyu fight card, odds

• Tim Tszyu -700 vs. Bakhram Murtazaliev (c) +475, IBF junior middleweight title
• Cesar Mateo Tapia -205 vs. Endry Saavedra +160, middleweight
• Yoenis Tellez -1400 vs. Johan Gonzalez +700, junior middleweight

View information

• Date: Oct 19
• Location: Caribe Royale Resort – Orlando, Florida
• Start time: 8:00 p.m. ET (main card)
• How to watch: Prime Video

forecast

Murtazaliev should not be overlooked in this fight. The odds are probably a bit too high considering Murtazaliev is a brave fighter with good punching power who has proven he can tackle Culcay in a difficult situation. When you add Murtazaliev’s power and forward style to Tszyu’s sometimes weaker defense and the ability to reopen a cut suffered in the Fundora fight that required 15 stitches to close, clear and obvious possibilities emerge as to how Murtazaliev won this fight can win.

However, at best, Tszyu should be fully capable of handling what Murtazaliev brings to the ring. Tszyu is no slouch when it comes to power, and when his offense is going well, it’s difficult to slow him down.

This is a fight that has every chance of being on the Fight of the Year list when the dust settles. Tszyu should be able to overcome some difficult situations in an exciting fight to regain his status as world champion. Selection: Tim Tszyu via UD