Bakhram Murtazaliev Captures IBF Junior Middleweight Title with 11th-Round Stoppage of Jack Culcay

Bakhram Murtazaliev (22-0, 16 KOs) claimed the vacant IBF junior middleweight belt with an 11th-round stoppage of Jack Culcay (33-5, 14 KOs) in a thrilling battle at the Stadthalle Falkensee in Falkensee, Germany on Saturday. Despite the eventual outcome, the 38-year-old Culcay's fighting spirit and resilience made Murtazaliev work hard for the title, and while this fight may mark the end of his career, there are worse ways to go out than in a potential Fight of the Year candidate.

After ten rounds, the scorecards were split, with two judges favoring Murtazaliev (99-91 and 96-94) and one scoring the fight 96-94 for Culcay. Boxing Scene also had Culcay ahead 96-94, as the German challenger outworked his opponent in many rounds, although Murtazaliev consistently landed the harder punches.

In the 11th round, a left hook from Murtazaliev loosened Culcay up, setting the stage for a decisive blow that sent Culcay to the canvas. Despite beating the ten count, Culcay was correctly stopped by the referee at 2:50 of the round.

Promoter Kathy Duva likened the fight to the epic first battle between Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward, and with good reason. The bout featured moments and stretches that lived up to the comparison.

Murtazaliev, a 31-year-old Russian based in Los Angeles, controlled the early rounds by effectively utilising his reach. However, Culcay dug deep and took the fight to his opponent, walking through hard punches and taking over the contest. The fight was marked by numerous hard exchanges, with most ending as Murtazaliev was forced to retreat while Culcay won rounds on the basis of his work rate alone.

Nevertheless, Murtazaliev consistently landed the more powerful shots. In the ninth round, both fighters were staggered, but Culcay finally seemed to wilt under the pressure. By the 11th round, Culcay had nothing left and absorbed a beating. Murtazaliev, seemingly having punched himself out on his opponent's granite chin, summoned the strength to finish Culcay before the round's end.