Adam Sales space, coach of IBF no. 3 tremendous welterweight Josh Kelly, just lately advised Sky Sports activities that he’d had “a few conversations” with promoter Kathy Duva about pitting Kelly towards reigning champion Bakhram Murtazaliev. Now, Lance Pugmire studies that the bout may be part of Canelo Alvarez’s September thirteenth conflict with Terence Crawford in Las Vegas.
I’m not fully clear on how the IBF may get behind this; Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KO) is on the clock to make a compulsory protection by October nineteenth, the one-year anniversary of his upset knockout of Tim Tszyu, and has a prime contender in Erickson Lubin.
It might be notably egregious contemplating Kelly’s (17-1-1, 9 KO) lack of {qualifications}. He’s solely caught across the home scene since getting thumped by David Avanesyan in 2021, his solely win of observe a razor-thin majority determination over late substitute Ishmael Davis final September.
Davis went on to get crushed to a pulp by Serhii Bohachuk, for reference.
It simply appears such a foolish battle to make contemplating the variety of precise killers lurking across the prime of the division. Hopefully that is simply an appetizer for a unification or a showdown with the rising “Boots” Ennis within the close to future.
