LAS VEGAS — Raymond Muratalla walked into Saturday night as a betting underdog. He left as a validated world champion. Despite holding the IBF lightweight title, Raymond Muratalla was widely overlooked against unbeaten Cuban standout Andy Cruz, but the 29-year-old champion relied on pressure, durability, and heavier punches to earn a majority decision victory and retain his belt at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
Judges Tim Cheatham (118-110) and Steve Weisfeld (116-112) both scored the fight for Muratalla, while Max DeLuca saw it dead even at 114-114. Though the contest was competitive throughout, Muratalla’s consistent forward pressure and power punching ultimately swayed two of the three scorecards.
Cruz spent much of the fight circling and countering off his back foot, flashing the technical polish that made him a 2021 Olympic gold medalist. But Muratalla repeatedly closed the distance, forcing exchanges and landing the more eye-catching blows particularly with his right hand and uppercut.
While Cheatham’s wide card raised eyebrows, the overall result reflected the subtle difference in the fight: Cruz landed often, but Muratalla landed harder.
Championship Pressure Tells the Story
Muratalla (24-0, 17 KOs) was making the first defense of his 135-pound title after being elevated to full champion following the retirement of Vasiliy Lomachenko. He originally captured the interim belt with a unanimous decision win over Zaur Abdullaev in May, and Saturday’s performance showed he belongs at the top of the division.
Round by round, Muratalla’s persistence wore on Cruz. A right uppercut landed clean in the eighth. A heavy right in the seventh forced Cruz to visibly shake his head. In the championship rounds, Muratalla’s pressure never faded a stiff left early in the 11th made Cruz reset, and a thudding right hand in the final minute of the 12th backed the challenger up one last time.
Neither fighter was seriously hurt, but Muratalla consistently won the most meaningful exchanges.
Numbers Back Up the Eye Test
According to CompuBox, the fight was razor-thin statistically:
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Cruz: 176 total punches landed
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Muratalla: 175 total punches landed
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Cruz: +14 in jabs (77-63)
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Muratalla: +13 in power punches (112-99)
Those numbers neatly explain the judges’ split opinions. Cruz was busier and cleaner at range, while Muratalla’s power punches particularly when forcing exchanges carried greater impact.
Notably, after a slow first round in which Muratalla landed just five punches, he reached double-digit connects in every round from the second through the twelfth. Cruz, for his part, landed at least 12 punches in every round, underscoring just how competitive the bout truly was.
What It Means Going Forward
For Muratalla, the win solidifies his status as a legitimate world champion rather than a placeholder. He proved he can handle elite movement, elite conditioning, and championship pressure all while being counted out.
For Cruz (6-1, 3 KOs), the loss is a setback but not a derailment. Going 12 rounds at world-title level in just his seventh professional fight is no small feat. Still, Saturday served as a reminder that at the highest level, precision must be paired with physicality and ring control.
On a night when many expected the Olympic pedigree to shine brightest, it was Muratalla’s grit, pressure, and championship composure that made the difference and kept the IBF lightweight title right where it belongs.
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
