Israil Madrimov is on the mend, recovering from left knee and left shoulder surgeries as well as a viral infection from late last year that still lingers.

Compounding matters is that Madrimov (10-2-1, 7 KOs), a former 154-pound titleholder ranked No. 4 in the division by The Ring, has lost back-to-back fights, albeit against top competition in Terence Crawford and Vergil Ortiz.

Madrimov, a 30-year-old from Uzbekistan, is anticipating a return to the ring by December. And if he can have it his way, he’d be thrown right back into the thick of things against elite Eastern European fighters in 154-pound IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev and WBO and IBF middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly.

“I'm not in a position to pick and choose who I would like to fight, but if I had the opportunity, I would absolutely love to fight Bakhram Murtazaliev and give a great fight to boxing fans,” Madrimov told The Ring. "It's a very good time to be at 154 pounds. There are a lot of strong contenders and good champions.

"I would say the strongest is Sebastian Fundora. He has something that no one else has — size and reach with an awkward style. I feel comfortable at 154 pounds, and I feel comfortable here, but I will never say never to an opportunity at 160 pounds. I never pick and choose easy fights. I want the toughest challenges every time.

"If I move up to 160, I would aim to fight all of the champions. With Janibek, I have nothing but respect for him, and it's not personal. It's only about the sport, and I would love to fight Janibek. It would be an honor. Kazakhstan is the neighboring country of Uzbekistan, and it would be a great fight between two of the best boxing nations.”

Madrimov just might be able to get his wish against either Murtazaliev or Alimkhanuly, two wrecking machines who’ve been having a hard time finding opposition willing to face them.

Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) just endured seeing mandatory challenger Erickson Lubin pass on a title shot to face Ortiz in October instead. The IBF has since ordered a fight between Murtazaliev and Josh Kelly.

Alimkhanuly (17-0, 12 KOs) has been crushing second-rate opposition during a title reign that started three years ago.