Bakhram Murtazaliev is determined to make Josh Kelly eat his words when they clash in Newcastle on Saturday night.

The California-based Russian will make the second defense of his IBF junior middleweight title at the Newcastle Arena. The event will be streamed exclusively on DAZN.

“Everything is very simple. I know what I'm going to do,” Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) said at Thursday’s final press conference.

If the quietly spoken champion chose his words carefully, Kelly (17-1-1, 9 KOs) wasn’t shy about voicing his intentions.

Most observers believe that the quicksilver 31-year-old will need to be perfect for every second of the fight if he is to spring a surprise, but Kelly insists he has the perfect style to unseat Murtazaliev.

“I become world champion by doing me,” he said.

“By going in there and taking advantage of what I need to take advantage of and performing in the little moments and just enjoying myself. Take every step as it comes and I believe I am the new IBF champion,” he said before issuing a challenge to Murtazaliev.

“Come and try and really take my head off and try and hurt us and that will suit me down to a tee.”

The fight will be the first world title fight of Kelly’s career and his first major step up since he challenged David Avanesyan for the European welterweight title in February of 2021.

That night, Kelly started well against the hard-hitting, determined Russian but an unflustered Avanesyan continued to chip away and him down in the sixth round.

Kelly is five years older and wiser, but Murtazaliev’s stern fight week demeanor must have brought back unwelcome memories of the Avanesyan ordeal. Kelly insists that he's much better-placed to deal with Murtazaliev’s aggression and power.

“I don't look at the exterior. If Bakhram never boxed and he worked in a farm or he worked somewhere in a shopping center then he'd be a scary looking guy who worked in a farm or a scary looking guy who worked in a shopping center,” Kelly said.

“If you look at the greats like Ray Leonard or Muhammad Ali, you would never walk down the street and think they're killers, but they are when they get in the ring.

“I feel at ease. I feel calm. The energy I'm feeling from Bakhram, I'm not sure if he's a little bit out of place coming to Newcastle. I’m not sure if he's a little bit nervous or shook, but I'm here. I'm ready to put a performance on.”

The hooded Murtazaliev didn’t look particularly nervous, and although a little may have been lost in translation, The Ring’s No. 5 junior middleweight calmly explained that he isn’t reading much into Kelly’s confidence.

“It makes me laugh a little about knocking me down, but let's see what Saturday is going to bring and let's see what he's going to say after the fight,” he said.

Murtazaliev has been avoided and ignored since he took Tim Tszyu apart in three exciting rounds in October 2024. The 33-year-old will know that if he is to secure a unification fight with one of his rival 154-pound champions, it is imperative that he keeps winning. A shock defeat to Kelly would give his divisional rivals another reason to keep him at arms length.

“The 15 months was a long time, but it went very well,” he said of his lay-off.

“I was training a lot and I’m looking forward to Saturday and stepping into the ring to do what I like to do and what I love to do.”