LOS ANGELES — Bakhram Murtazaliev is stuck in the uncomfortable position of waiting, and his patience is being tested.

After negotiations with Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Josh Kelly hit dead ends, the IBF junior middleweight champion (23-0, 17 KOs) appears headed toward a fight against mandatory challenger Erickson Lubin.

But even moving forward with a matchup against his mandatory challenger has not been easy.

"I'm being told by my team that Lubin's side has not been responsive in the negotiations process,” Murtazaliev told The Ring. “It's frustrating, because even fighting my mandatory is a difficult process. Lubin is a serious opponent for me and I am looking forward to fighting him.”

Murtazaliev's promoter Kathy Duva of Main Events told The Ring that the IBF has assigned a purse bid date for Aug. 19 if a deal isn't done by then.

“Maybe only Turki Alalshikh can make the fight happen,” quipped the frustrated Murtazaliev.

Alalshikh recently stated that he tried to make a fight for Murtazaliev and offered good money for opponents but the challengers were "scared and disappeared."

Murtazaliev, a 32-year-old from Grozny, Russia, moved back to Southern California last month to kick off training with head coach Roma Kalantaryan at KD MMA gym in Montrose to stay sharp.

Murtazaliev has not fought since October when he dropped Tim Tszyu four times and stopped the Australian in just three rounds. He has been open to all comers ever since, but the top names in the division rarely call him out for a crack at his crown.

"I haven't fought in almost a year,” said Murtazaliev. “Maybe I forgot how to fight. It's not good that I am not fighting. I am a world champion and I need to stay active, fighting at least twice a year. You feel the rust when you are not active.

"Assessing distance and punches in a real fight becomes more difficult. It's a big disadvantage to give away rounds like that. But I am using this time to be with my beautiful family and sharpening my technical skills. What else can I do?"

Murtazaliev, The Ring’s No. 5 fighter at 154 pounds, has fought just six times since 2020. His status as a boogeyman ballooned even further after he blasted Tszyu during his first title defense.

“When I beat Jack Culcay for the title, people called me the weakest champion in the division,” he said. “And after the Tszyu fight, they started calling me the strongest and most avoided champion. It looks like everyone is concerned about the least risk for the most reward when it comes to fighting me.”

Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) looks ready for the challenge after beating Andreal Holmes Jr. in May in an IBF title eliminator.

“I hope Lubin comes forward like he did in his last fight, stands toe to toe and tries to fight me, but who knows how the fight is going to go,” said Murtazaliev. “I'll be bringing a lot of power to him.”