“When they talk to the media, they say they want to fight the best,” Murtazaliev said. “When it comes to business, they put the amount of money that is very high and it is not cheap.”
This situation reflects a trend in the middleweight division. Passion is shown in public, but not in private conversations. No fight is officially ruled out, but negotiations are halted before they reach a point of possibility.
For Murtazaliev, that tour has left him as a world title holder without a clear path to the top tier of the group stage. He enters Saturday’s fight as the IBF champion after stopping Tim Tszyu, but there is still no confirmed opponent waiting behind Kelly’s defense.
Murtazaliev emphasized that his comments did not refer to Ennis specifically, but to the way big fights are usually discussed. If Ennis pursues the championship at 154 pounds, the IBF belt is up for grabs. Murtazaliev said he was ready to move beyond the prolonged back-and-forth and toward concrete negotiations.
The focus is still on Saturday’s fight. Murtazaliev must go to Kelly first before any future talks can move forward. But speaking openly, the IBF champion has clarified his position. The junior middleweight division is stacked, but nothing really moves.
With the judge Vergil Ortiz Jr. against the Golden Boy still hanging on things and discussions including Jaron Ennis has nowhere to go, champions like Murtazaliev are waiting. In the wake of the big win of his career, he has made it clear that he has no interest in standing around while other fights are tied up on paper.
He is not asking to be called after fights. He is asking for the conversation to finally go away.