(January 5th) Newbury Park, California, based Russian, unbeaten, IBF Super Welterweight World Champion Bakhram "The Beast From Dagestan" Murtazalievwill put his title on the line against Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, UK's top contender Josh "Pretty Boy" Kelly in a highly anticipated clash on Saturday, January 31st at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England.​

Murtazaliev, , 23-0, 17Ko’s who captured the IBF belt with a devastating third-round knockout in October 2024, faces his first mandatory defense following an IBF order issued in August 2025. The 37-year-old power puncher from Dagestan brings an undefeated record and knockout artistry to the ring, aiming to silence doubters in his UK debut.​

Kelly, 17-1-1, 9Ko’s riding a seven-fight win streak as the IBF's No. 3 contender, seeks to claim world honors in his hometown region after a career resurgence. The 32-year-old from Sunderland promises speed, skill, and heart to dethrone the champion on Matchroom Boxing's stacked card, streamed live on DAZN.​

In the co-feature Armthorpe, Yorkshire,UK’s Josh “Paddy” Padley will challenge Hérault, France, Jaouad “Le Bombardier Marocain” Belmehdi for the vacant European Boxing Union Super Featherweight title.

The European Boxing Union (EBU) title became vacant after Ryan Garner relinquished the belt, prompting the EBU to order Padley and Belmehdi to contest the championship at the full 12-round distance.

Padley, 17-1, 5Ko’s enters the bout riding the strongest run of his professional career accepting a short-notice assignment against Shakur Stevenson in February 2025, a bout that ended in a stoppage loss but significantly elevated his profile. Since signing with Matchroom, the 30-year-old has transitioned rapidly from a full-time electrician into a legitimate European title contender rebounding from the Stevenson defeat with back-to-back victories, beginning with a fifth-round stoppage of Marko Cvetanovic, followed by a points win over Reece Bellotti to capture the WBA International Super Featherweight title in October 2025. His recent form has been reflected in the rankings, with the Briton now placed inside the WBA’s top five at junior lightweight and inside the IBF top 15 at lightweight, making a European title win a potential gateway to world-level opportunities.

The 27-year-old Frenchman, stopped in just 35 seconds October 2022 by Gary Cully rebuilt his career after that setback, putting together a seven-fight winning streak that included four stoppage victories. The high-output pressure boxers victory run came to an end in his last appearance August 2025, suffering a 12-round decision loss to former world champion Xu Can in China.  Now 23-2-3 with 11 knockouts, “Le Bombardier Marocain” arrives in Newcastle seeking to reset his career narrative and claim a major European title on away soil.

The contest represents Padley’s second scheduled 12-round fight and a significant step beyond secondary belts, while for Belmehdi it is an opportunity to rebound immediately from defeat and secure one of the EBU’s most prestigious championships.

With home advantage, recent momentum, and world rankings already in place, Padley enters as the perceived favorite, though the experience and resilience Belmehdi showed against Xu Can suggest a demanding test at championship level.

The European junior lightweight title fight adds further depth to an already high-profile Newcastle card and positions the winner firmly in the continental and global title picture moving into 2026.

Undercard:

Lightweights - Josh Blenkiron, 7-0-1 vs Robbie Colman, 7-0, 1Ko -10rds               

Cruiserweights - Bradley Casey, 3-0, 1Ko vs TBA - 4rds         

Heavyweights - Leo Atang, 3-0, 3Ko’s vs TBA - 4rds                           

Bantamweights - Lee Rogers, 6-0, 2Ko’s vs TBA - 4rds          

Kiaran MacDonald pro-debut vs TBA - 4rds       

Venue: Newcastle Arena, Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom

Promoter: Eddie Hearn - Matchroom Boxing

Matchmaker: Tom Dallas

Media: DAZN

Tickets are on sale this week via the Utilita Arena website just (click here).

About DAZN Group

DAZN Group is one of the fastest growing sports media companies in the world. Headquartered in the UK and with employees in over 25 countries, our businesses touch every aspect of the way fans engage with sports; from production, through to content distribution and commercialization. DAZN Group is home to DAZN, the leading global sport destination, as well as the popular sport portal, DAZN News. DAZN is leading the charge to give sports fans around the world access to sport anytime, anywhere. DAZN guarantees affordable access on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles. DAZN is now live in more than 200 countries and territories after first launching in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan in 2016.

DAZN is a leading digital sports platform in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Canada, US and the UK.  Its wide range of exclusive content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions – Bundesliga, English Premier League, J.League, LaLiga, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, in addition to the biggest sports from around the world - Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP and the UFC.  

DAZN is the NFL’s global partner and, from the 2023 season, will be the only place for fans around the world to watch every NFL match. DAZN is a global home for boxing and combat sports through its partnerships with Matchroom Boxing the Professional Fighters League. With the most authentic voice in the sport, DAZN is the only brand that can reach across all markets and audiences cohesively in boxing, unlike any other broadcaster. DAZN is also a global home for Women’s Football with UEFA Women’s Champions League and Finetwork Liga F.  DAZN is adding more and more sport to its platform to create a destination for sports fans.  

DAZN is reimagining the way people enjoy sport. With a single, frictionless platform, sports fans can watch, bet, play, share, socialise, and buy tickets, NFTs and merchandise. Live and on-demand sports content, anywhere, in any language, on any device – only on DAZN.  

DAZN is a global, privately-owned company with employees in over 25 countries.

DAZN is available on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles, ensuring that fans have access to ground-breaking rights catalogue and slate of incredible content. In the UK and globally, DAZN can be accessed on Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic Smart TVs and on Games Consoles including Playstation and Xbox. Subscribers also have access to DAZN on their Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast and Apple TV and find the app on their iPhone, iPad, android and mobile.  

About Matchroom Boxing

After the success of snooker in the 1980s, Matchroom Sport moved into boxing with two small hall shows followed by Frank Bruno v Joe Bugner at Tottenham Hotspur’s ground – the biggest boxing event of 1987. That launched the company into the boxing big-time, a position it has maintained ever since.

Through the 1990s Matchroom Sport’s boxing roster featured many of the biggest names in the sport including Lennox Lewis, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Steve Collins and Naseem Hamed, all in world title fights and it continues to work with some of the biggest names in UK boxing including Audley Harrison, the 2000 Olympic Super-Heavyweight gold medalist.

Over the years, Matchroom Sport has built up long-standing relationships with broadcasters around the world and with the advent of the Prizefighter phenomenon, the company’s boxing division has never been in a stronger position.

From fantastic six round scraps between the sport’s journeymen, up to multi-million-dollar World Championship contests featuring the above fighters, the Pro Box series has it all. Each show is packed with the very best in boxing action in a series that encompasses almost 25 years of Matchroom Sport’s commitment to bringing the highest quality to the global television market.