Rising Star Bakhram Murtazaliev Added To Kovalev Vs Alvarez Card

Junior middleweight Bakhram Murtazaliev (12-0, 10 KOs) of Grozny, Russia faces the hard-hitting Fernando Carcamo* (23-8, 18 KOs) of Ciudad, Mexico in ten rounds on the undercard of the Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev vs. Eleider "Storm" Alvarez card at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino’s Etess Arena on Saturday, August 4. It is Murtazaliev’s second defense of the IBA Junior Middleweight World Title he won at The Garden in November 2017.

Murtazaliev, 25, has quickly made a name for himself since coming to the United States in 2016. Sanctioning bodies are taking notice. The WBO now ranks Murtazaliev in the Top Ten at #10. The IBF has Murtazaliev among its top contenders as well, ranked #13. Sitting at the top of these divisions respectively are Jaime Munguia (WBO) and Jarrett Hurd (IBF).

Murtazaliev says the rankings are his ticket to getting the kind of fights he craves, both for himself and for the fans. "The first goal for me was to get good rankings. It gives me a chance to get good opponents and have big fights." His main target is the WBO champion, the 21-year-old Munguia of Tijuana, Mexico who has made a splash with two recent victories over Sadam Ali and most recently a tough Liam Smith. "It will be an interesting fight for me, but not for him!" declared the confident Murtazaliev. "I guarantee it, 101 percent."

Murtazaliev seeks first to extend his seven-fight knockout streak and improve his already impressive 83% knockout ratio (10 KOs in 12 wins) against Carcamo. The young Russian says he is "completely ready" for his opponent. "That’s all I’m going to say, I am completely ready.

"I’ve watched his fights," said Murtazaliev. "He fights Mexican style. I like this, I know he’s going to come forward, and I know everything will work as we’ve planned. I like when boxers really fight. I don’t like when the fighters are running around, like in a circus. I like real fights, I like to fight."