SATURDAY night’s cards had a bit of everything.
There were impressive victories, a couple of shock results and a retirement.
As the boxing roadshow packs up its stuff and moves on to the first fight card at the Co-op Arena in Manchester, there is plenty to ponder about the futures of last night’s fighters.
Boxing News looks at who could be next for the winners and losers.
Bakhram Murtazaliev and Tim Tszyu
The super-welterweight division was put on notice after Murtazaliev retained his IBF title in emphatic fashion. Most would have expected an action-packed contest, but very few would have predicted a third-round win for the champion.
What’s next?
At the post-fight press conference, Murtazaliev spoke of unification fights, which brings Sebastian Fundora and Terence Crawford into the conversation. The Russian may need to wait until next spring/summer for that to happen, however. In the meantime, he needs to build on his momentum and return in the first quarter of 2025. Defending the title against someone like Erickson Lubin (IBF #3 contender) makes sense. As for Tszyu, a rebuild and a rethink is in order.
Adam Azim and Ohara Davies
Azim turned up and delivered in Boxxer’s main event last night. The unbeaten super-lightweight broke Davies down and stopped his man which looks better than going the distance.
What’s next?
The calls for Azim’s next fight will focus on Dalton Smith and Harlem Eubank. Earlier in the week, Azim spoke of returning in December and then February. Smith fights in December and Eubank is scheduled to fight on October 25. If Azim does return before the end of the year, it can’t be a step back on Davies. One option could be Jose Zepeda, who beat Ivan Redkach in September but lost to Smith in March. A chance to do a better job, perhaps? Sandor Martin or Sergey Lipinets are respectable alternatives. Davies should follow up on his suggestion in the post-fight interview and retire.
William Scull and Vladimir Shishkin
It’s been a few years since someone other than Canelo Alvarez held a world super-middleweight title. On Saturday night, William Scull became the newest 168-pound champion after beating Vladimir Shishkin in Germany to win the vacant IBF belt.
What’s next?
Christian Mbilli will become the IBF number one contender next month so expect his promoter Top Rank to make a big push for the fight. Shishkin wasn’t outclassed against Scull and will come again. Someone like Zach Parker and his promoter, Frank Warren, should be looking at Shishkin as an opponent for early 2025.
