IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev finally has his next fight lined up, and it will come against Josh Kelly.

The targeted date for the matchup is January 31 in England, but a formal announcement has not been made yet.

Matchroom Boxing's Eddie Hearn, who previously was not involved with either fighter, stepped into the situation to stage the fight and saved it from going to a purse bid last week. Hearn is keen on the clash because he wants to have the option to set up the winner with Jaron “Boots” Ennis sometime in 2026.

“[Kelly’s trainer and manager] Adam Booth approached us about doing the fight. I don't represent Josh Kelly at the moment, and Murtazaliev is with Kathy Duva, Luis Decubas, and Egis Klimas, whom I've got a good relationship with,” Hearn told The Ring.

“I agreed to a deal to stage the fight. I like the fight. Murtazaliev is a very good fighter, and we are investing in that division with Jaron Ennis. Anytime there is a Brit fighting a very good fighter for a world title, I'm excited by it … Tying up the deal for the fight, obviously, we want to have a horse in the race, if you want to call it that way. We are putting our money up for the fight. We're interested to see the outcome of that fight.”

Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) has not fought since destroying Tim Tyzsu in three rounds in October of last year. Many options like Vergil Ortiz Jr. and mandatory challenger Erickson Lubin have come and gone for Murtazaliev, and it was Kelly (17-1-1, 9 KOs) who ultimately got the assignment.

Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs) and Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) are fighting each other Saturday to headline a Golden Boy show on DAZN. Hearn and Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) will be ringside in Fort Worth, Texas, to ramp up a potential showdown with the winner. Their preference is Ortiz, but the betting underdog Lubin is a dangerous opponent who has a path to victory as well.

“You always want to win a world title, but the fact is that the best fight that could be made in the 154-pound division is Boots versus Vergil Ortiz,” said Hearn.

“I just hope Vergil and his team truly want that fight, because that is, for me, the best fight in the division. If we can't get the fight, of course, we will target the winner of Murtazaliev-Kelly.”