Tim Tszyu Vs Bakhram Murtazaliev

 

Bakhram Murtazaliev and Tim Tszyu are great fighters. Both are fun to watch. Bakhram is an exciting fighter with a record of 22-0, 16 of which came by knockout. That's a 72% knockout ratio. Hailing from Grozny, Russia, he stands 6 feet tall, 183 cm. He is currently the IBF super welterweight champion or junior middleweight champion, depending on your preference. Both are classified at 154 pounds.


Tim Tszyu is the son of legendary boxer Kostya Tszyu. Like his dad, he has knockout power. Like his dad, he has superstar-like qualities—the slugger and ever-advancing mentality that is fan-friendly. He is absolutely fun to watch. There are boring fighters, and there are exciting ones. He is definitely an exciting one. Listed at 5'8 1/2", Timofei Konstantinovich Tszyu has a record of 24-1, 17 KOs, roughly a 70.83% KO ratio.


"I'm here to show that I'm levels above; it's quite simple," Tim said.



Tim believes he should be the -700 favorite to win the fight, especially after making such a bold statement. He should also be aware that Murtazaliev is just as strong as he is and remind himself not to get careless.


Bakhram has good footwork and doesn't like to waste a lot of movement. He does have a bad habit of losing his balance when missing his right hook. This could be exploited by a left hook counter if he is not careful. When his right hook does land, he sometimes follows it with a left-body shot to the opponent's kidneys. He's a well-rounded boxer who will give Tim some difficulty. He's as tough as they come. He's difficult to catch off guard because of his patience, a reason he will be very difficult to knock out.


Bakhram doesn't waste a lot of movement. He is very conservative on energy. When a boxer doesn't do that, it is hard for his opponent to counter him effectively. The first few rounds will be slow as they get acclimated to one another. In later rounds, the action will heat up, and depending who has an upper edge the first 5 rounds, the fighter behind the scorecards will have to take the initiative to press the action. Fighters usually show their weaknesses around the midpoint of the fight, if they have any. By then, it will not be hard to know who is taking control of the fight.


Tim has got to be grateful that the person he's fighting is not 6'6" like his previous opponent, Sebastian Fundora. He struggled with the reach disadvantage he had in that fight. He won't have that problem with Bakhram, who has a 72-inch reach—only 2 more than he does. Even though Tim lost to Fundora, he could have won that fight. if not for the terrible cut he suffered. That cut hampered his ability to fight well. Tim does some similar things as Bakhram, only better.


What is unique about Tim is his willingness to somehow throw punches consecutively with the same hand. You don't see that these days. This can be a sign of overconfidence, or he is just so good that he can get away with it.


The edge goes to Tim Tszyu. Tim is going to have a difficult time knocking Murtazaliev out. He has a granite chin, but if anyone can, it would have to be Tim. Both men can knock the other one out. This fight is most likely going all 12 rounds, with a possibility of a late-round KO or stoppage. The edge goes to Tim Tszyu to claim the IBF Super Middleweight championship.

How To Watch: Amazon Prime.