On August 19th, the IBF ordered its junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev to begin negotiations with Josh Kelly of the United Kingdom for a mandatory title defense. An agreement was not reached within the time frame set forth by the IBF, so the IBF has scheduled a purse bid for October 21st. Originally from Grozny, Russia, Murtazaliev is 23-0 and has two wins in world title fights: Jack Culcay for the vacant IBF title and a successful defense vs. ex-champ Tim Tszyu. Kelly (17-2-1 includin g the World Series of Boxing) has won seven straight since a 2021 loss to William Avanesyan.