As plans begin to unfold Friday for junior middleweight champions Sebastian Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev, boxing’s best division has Be prepared to show its depth.
According to Fundora promoter Sampson, Fundora has a record of 21-1-1 (13 KOs) and former three-belt welterweight champion Errol Spence Jnr, 28-1 (22 times KO) are currently waiting for Super Boxing Champions to send them a contract. Lukovic.
Confirming a report from boxing writer Dan Rafael that “Fight Freaks Unite!” in the Substack newsletter, Lewkowicz said the fight is targeting March 29 in Las Vegas.
As for WBC/WBO champion Fundola, he will only compete with No. 1 Spence for the WBC gold belt. WBO president Gustavo Olivieri told BoxingScene last month that his organization would not sanction the fight.
Explaining his stance, Olivieri said Spence, who has not competed since a shocking loss to Terrence Crawford in July 2023, has never competed at 154 pounds and He’s also not in the WBO top 15.
If Fundora loses to Spence, the WBO belt will be won by interim champion Crawford, who holds the WBA 154-pound belt with his unanimous decision victory over Israel Madrimov on August 3.
Madrimov is set to fight unbeaten Vergil Ortiz Jnr on February 22 in Saudi Arabia.
Murtazaliyev, who defended his belt for the first time with an impressive knockout of former champion Tim Tszyu in October despite a broken knuckle, is interested in retiring at 5 Returning in March to face Ortiz-Madrimov champ Crawford or most recently WBC Casey Dewar, promoter of interim belt holder Serhii Bohachuk, told BoxingScene on Friday.
Crawford is interested in fighting super middleweight title holder Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in May.
“He was always interested in being tough,” Dewar said of Murtazaliyev. “His No. 1 desire is Terrence Crawford. If not, there are a lot of top fighters in the division and some welterweights interested in moving up. We’re going to sit back and let those fights happen,” while recovering and Rested during Ramadan.
“[Bohachuk] It’s a fight I’d love to see. [Murtazaliev] Best matched with someone fighting like Bohachuk. It was an amazing fight. Let’s just see. “
Murtazaliyev may also be linked to a 154-pound bout that could appear on the Fundora-Spence card.
The IBF currently lacks a No. 1 or No. 2 contender at 154 pounds, but No. 3 Erickson Lubin (26-2 (18 KOs)) and No. 8 No. 1 Adrea Ho Promoters of Muss (17-0 (6 KOs)) are in talks to fight, with the winner becoming Murtazaliyev’s bitter rival.
Dewar said her fighters are excited to get it done in the fall.
“There are a lot of fun fights. “It’s a great division. Bahram has made it clear that he wants to play in the biggest tournament he can,” Dewar said. “So we’re working on that. “
Lance Pugmire is an American senior writer at BoxingScene and an associate producer at ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first with the Los Angeles Times, then The Athletic and USA Today. In 2022, he received the Nat Fleischer Award from the Boxing Writers Association of America for career excellence.
