Raymond Muratalla walked away with the win on Saturday, January 24 when he faced Andy Cruz at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. West Covina native Muratalla retained his IBF lightweight title, defeating Miami-based Olympic gold medalist Cruz by majority decision.
The two fighters went head-to-head for 12 rounds, with one judge scoring the fight 114-114, while the other two judges scored it 118-110 and 116-112 in favor of Muratalla.
With the victory, Muratalla made his first successful defense, improved to 24-0 with 17 KOs, and remained undefeated. The 29-year-old initially claimed the interim belt last May and was elevated to full champion after Vasiliy Lomachenko retired.
Cruz fell short in his first bid to claim one of boxing’s four major belts. The 30-year-old dropped to 6-1 with 3 KOs, suffering his first loss as a pro.
“[I proved] that I’m a champion,” Muratalla said post-fight. “I deserve to be here. I worked my ass off to get here, and it’s showing.”
As for his next fight, Muratalla said he wants to face the winner of the Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson showdown. Lopez defends his WBO super lightweight title against Stevenson on January 31 in New York.
“I want to fight the biggest fights,” Muratalla said. “I would like the winner of the 140 lbs, Shakur and Teo.”
On the Muratalla vs Cruz undercard
In the co-feature, Khalil Coe (11-1-1, 8 KOs) of Jersey City, New Jersey, defeated Philadelphia’s Jesse Hart (31-4, 25 KOs) by majority decision, with scores of 94-94, 95-93, and 96-92. On his way to victory, Coe, who missed weight by 7.2 pounds, was deducted a point for slamming his opponent in the ring in the third round, while Hart was deducted a point for holding in the sixth round.
Among other Muratalla vs Cruz results, Uzbekistan’s former champion Israil Madrimov (11-2-1, 7 KOs) defeated Dominican Luis David Salazar (20-2, 7 KOs) by unanimous decision at middleweight, with all three judges scoring the fight 99-91.
Omari Jones (5-0, 4 KOs) defeated Jerome Baxter (7-1, 3 KOs) by unanimous decision in a super welterweight bout, scoring a knockdown in the first round along the way. All three judges scored it 60-53.
Zaquin Moses (6-0, 3 KOs) also earned a 60-53 score across all three judges’ cards, defeating Leandro Damian Medina (7-3-1, 4 KOs) by unanimous decision at super featherweight. Moses landed a knockdown, sending Medina to the canvas in the fourth round.
Among the non-televised prelims, Kaipo Gallegos (11-0-1, 9 KOs) dominated and stopped Wilson Akinocho (3-1) in the second round at lightweight. The referee stepped in and waved the fight off as Gallegos delivered a series of punches.
In the event opener, Ronny Alvarez (6-0, 5 KOs) dropped and stopped Braulio Matias Ferreira (7-3, 2 KOs) in the sixth round at super middleweight.