Patience was a virtue in every regard for Bakhram Murtazaliev.

The unbeaten Russian surged late to win the vacant IBF 154-pound title fight in an eleventh-round stoppage of Jack Culcay. A barrage of punches produced the bout’s lone knockdown, from which Culcay was unable to recover.

The local favorite rose but fell into the referee, who stopped the fight at 2:50 of the eleventh round Saturday evening at Stadthalle in Falkansee, Germany.

Murtazaliev (22-0, 16 knockouts) hadn’t fought since December 2022 and was forced to compromise his religious beliefs for this opportunity. The bout took place at the tail end of Ramadan, which Murtazaliev—a devout Muslim—was forced to accept. AGON Sports, Culcay’s promoter, won a purse bid hearing in January. Saturday’s date was chone in line with the availability of Germany’s RBB who aired the event live.

It was par for the course for Murtazaliev, who was the IBF number-one contender since November 2019. He was first named mandatory in 2020 but forced to wait four years and for the title be vacated for his overdue shot.

Murtazaliev opened at a fast pace but began to show visible signs of fatigue by the midway point. It came at the right time for the 38-year-old Culcay, a 2008 Olympian for Germany who was on his last chance to win a major title.

Culcay entered the fight as The Ring’s No. 10-rated 154-pound contender. He took control of the fight in the second half and threatened to pull away with the win. Murtazaliev, 31, struggled to regain early fight form and reached a point where he would need a dramatic finish.

He produced just that.

Consecutive right hands over the top landed flush on Culcay’s chin just inside the one-minute mark of round eleven. Culcay’s head snapped back as he slowly went into retreat mode. Murtazaliev went on the attack and continued to land a barrage of power punches.

Culcay landed one final left hook to the body with roughly 40 seconds to go in the round. An overhand right badly missed the mark, after which Murtazaliev responded with a vicious left hook upstairs. Cuclay wobbled and was defenseless against the incoming attack. Murtazialiev closed with a left hook and winging right hand to send Culcay down with 24 seconds to go in the eleventh.

It was the final punch thrown in the fight.

Culcay barely made it to his feet but pitched forward as the referee waved off the contest.

Murtazaliev dropped to his knees and fell on his chest in celebration of his well-earned title win.

An eight-fight win streak was snapped as Culcay (33-5, 14 KOs) saw his final act at the contender level.

Murtazaliev claimed the title left behind by former undisputed champ Jermell Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs), who still holds The Ring championship. Charlo was previously ordered to face Murtazaliev last fall, but repeatedly chose a different—and more lucrative—path. It resulted in his fully unifying the division and a career-best payday in a losing effort to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez last September.

A purse bid hearing scheduled for last November instead saw Charlo relinquish the belt once he ran out of exceptions to avoid the fight.

Murtazaliev became the mandatory challenger after a November 2019 points win over Jorge Fortea but had to wait out the politics of the sport. He fought four times in non-televised bouts buried on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) undercards.

Saturday’s win was at least televised. The ten-year pro can accept more favorable opportunities moving forward.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Follow @JakeNDaBox

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