IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev would have loved to fight Terence Crawford. And he believes Crawford, the WBA beltholder, would have fought him in a title unification fight if the opportunity against Canelo Alvarez wasn’t on the table.

So for the time being, Murtazaliev will be an interested observer when Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) steps up two weight classes to challenge the undisputed super middleweight champion Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) on Sept. 13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Netflix.

“It’s truly a 50-50 fight,” Murtazaliev told The Ring. “I think Crawford can beat Canelo by decision if he doesn't get caught with anything hard. If Canelo catches him early, then it's a different story. Canelo has a lot of power, and not just for his division, but across every division he's fought in.”

Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) knows all too well about moving around in weight and campaigning in different divisions. He started his career at 168 pounds and fought at 160 as well before settling in at 154. In the midst of all this, the 32-year-old from Grozny, Russia, sparred light heavyweight kingpins like Sergey Kovalev and Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

“I had an advantage sparring bigger guys because I was faster and moved better, but you feel the power, of course,” Murtazaliev said. “There is a reason why we have weight classes. The brain is a sensitive thing, and every few extra pounds the opponent carries is more damage the brain has to absorb. I know how it feels.”

Unfortunately for Murtazaliev, he also knows the feeling of not fighting.

Murtazaliev has been having a hard time finding a willing dance partner ever since he demolished Tim Tszyu with a four-knockdown, third-round stoppage win in October.

Murtazaliev was supposed to face mandatory challenger Erickson Lubin, and a purse bid was ordered in August, but Lubin opted to face Vergil Ortiz Jr. instead. Murtazaliev is now headed toward another IBF-ordered fight against Josh Kelly.