Trainer Adam Booth and his team wore shirts with a single word into the ring for the IBF World Super Welterweight fight between their challenger, “Pretty Boy” Josh Kelly, and champion Bahkram Murtazaliev: Discipline.
With that discipline, and the energy of the northern England crowd behind him in Newcastle, Kelly of Sunderland (17-1-1, 9 KOs) put in the performance of his life, slaying the much-feared Murtazaliev of Russia (23-1, 17 KOs), who trains in Indio, California, with a sizzling majority decision victory behind a fourth-round knockdown. Scores were 115-111 and 114-113 for Kelly, with one scorecard even.
Upon hearing the scores, Kelly burst into tears and embraced Booth, who later said he couldn’t speak because he didn’t want to cry on television.
“This feels like a dream,” said Kelly. “History has been made here tonight, the first world champion from Sunderland. That’s cool!”
Kelly credited keeping his cool, along with the help of the fans cheering him on after a ninth-round knockdown.
“Calm, cool, collected. Never got greedy, except in the ninth round, and I paid the price for it. I got up late,” said Kelly. “I got knocked down. If it wasn’t for this crowd and the energy behind us, I wouldn’t have got up and carried on. I don’t think so,” said Kelly.
Josh Kelly’s Handspeed Throws Off Rusty Russian
“Pretty Boy” Kelly showed solid handspeed and snappy power that the champion didn’t expect to see in the early rounds. Murtazaliev tightened up a bit, but he fought in a relaxed manner, oozing confidence.
Out of nowhere, Kelly scored a knockdown halfway through the fourth round on a crisp left jab, changing angles and catching the Russian walking forward off balance. It wasn’t a tooth-rattling blow, but the shock showed on Murtazaliev’s face. The fans went wild. Kelly forced Murtazaliev to stay on the move to end the round.
KELLY PUTS THE CHAMP DOWN 🤯#MurtazalievKelly | Live on DAZN NOW ▪️ pic.twitter.com/KGMY3fHyTF
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 31, 2026
The knockdown added to Kelly’s growing confidence. He didn’t get over his skis and continued to come at Murtazaliev, who struggled to see Kelly’s shots coming and showed his frustration. Murtazaliev tried to turn up the heat on Kelly, but through six rounds, Kelly was in control.
The action settled into a rhythm favoring Kelly’s jab. He worked it to perfection, staying out of danger until he found his opportunities. In the eighth round, Kelly followed up with body shots that doubled Murtazaliev over briefly. Murtazaliev landed a hook here and there, but Kelly successfully stayed out of danger.
Murtazaliev Strikes, Flips the Script
Until the ninth round, Murtazaliev finally hit pay dirt in a big way, taking Kelly’s legs out from under him with a vicious left hook. Kelly was slow to rise, and with half of the round left, Kelly retreated to make it through the round.
Murtazaliev floors Kelly 😱#MurtazalievKelly | Live on DAZN NOW ▪️ pic.twitter.com/Bhwbn9F3iA
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 31, 2026
With the script flipped, Murtazaliev had renewed energy, coming at a cautious Kelly who had his swagger smacked out of him, boxing and moving. Kelly could only hope he was far enough ahead on the scorecards to see himself to a decision.
Murtazaliev came after Kelly with everything he had in the final round, knowing the cards could be close, but it was likely Kelly needed the round more. With a minute left and the champion in control, Murtazaliev threw and missed, spinning, and Kelly moved in with a swift combination of eye-catching power punches. Would it be enough to win the round and the fight?
It was, handing Murtazaliev his first loss. With the win, Kelly put his single loss against David Avanesyan in 2021 in the distance.
It’s among the strongest truisms in boxing: Activity matters. Murtazaliev had been out of the ring for 15 months and only fought three rounds against Tim Tszyu in his last fight. Sparring, even at the high level of the Diaz Brothers gym in the California desert, isn’t the same thing
Josh Kelly: Plenty of Options
With the win, a world of possible unification fights opens up for Josh Kelly once the current titleholders sort things out.
It starts with the bout later on Saturday night in Puerto Rico between WBO champion Xander Zayas and WBA champion Abass Baraou. One of them will hold both belts as long as there isn’t a draw or a DQ.
WBC champion Sebastian Fundora is expected to reschedule his title defense against former champion Keith Thurman sometime early this year.
Belts aside, there are two men considered the top talents in the division whose anticipated fight is on the rocks. Matchroom Sport CEO Frank Smith said Kelly has already signed for a prospective fight with Jaron “Boots” Ennis, but he would be willing to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr., who holds the interim WBC title. Stay tuned.
Josh Padley Thrills Fans With KO Win
Another chapter was written in the storybook journey of former electrician-turned-full-time boxer Josh Padley of Yorkshire. With his northern England fans roaring at every punch, Padley of Yorkshire (18-1, 6 KOs) stopped Jaouad Belmehdi of France (23-3-3, 11 KOs) in two blistering rounds to win the vacant EBU Super Featherweight Championship.
Padley, whose record doesn’t appear to be one of a power puncher, took the heat to Belmehdi, catching him early with hard …. Once Padley saw Belmehdi hurt, he poured on the punishment. Belmehdi tried to hold but lost steam fast. As the referee moved in to end the fight at the end of the round, Padley dropped Belmehdi to the canvas face down to put an exclamation point on the victory.
One year ago, Padley was a last-minute replacement against Shakur Stevenson, taking his first loss after a surprising win over highly regarded Mark Chamberlain. After his win, he said the loss taught him a great deal.
“A loss isn’t always a bad thing. It sometimes puts you on a path that you meant to be on,” observed Padley.
Padley said he was eager to quiet the doubters who weren’t impressed by his narrow victory over Reese Bilotti in his last fight, his first in the super featherweight division.
“First time at super featherweight, straight in there with Reese Bilotti, who’s a quality operator. He’s a very tough man, Reese. What a tough fight for my first time at super feather. So, jumping straight in there, I got through that. I do believe I won the fight. And now, keep pushing on to bigger and bigger fights.”
All of the top fighters at super featherweight are in good matchups in the next few months, and Padley will be watching with interest.
Nur Turhan Taken the Distance By Gentzen
IBF World Lightweight champion Elif Nur Turhan of Istanbul, Turkey (13-0, 8 KOs) faced a far stiffer challenge than expected from a driven Taylah Gentzen of Australia (8-1, 3 KOs). Nur Turhan doesn’t hear the scorecards too often, but Gentzen went the distance, losing a split decision. The scores were all over the place: 98-92 and 96-94 for Nur Turhan, and 97-93 for Gentzen.
Gentzen has solid boxing skills, backed up by a good chin and plenty of toughness. They served her well. But the damage rolled up and slowed Gentzen down in the last few rounds to give the champion the victory.
In early action, 19-year-old British heavyweight prospect Leo Atang of York (4-0, 4 KOs) maintained his perfect record with a third-round knockout against Amine Bouchetta of Belgium (9-18).
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist and the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). She is the Managing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.