In a delicious display of high-level boxing skills with plenty of power punches to please any fan, Raymond Muratalla and Andy Cruz delivered a fight that deserved a championship belt for the winner.
Muratalla of Fontana, California (24-0, 17 KOs) heard the word he wanted to hear in the end, ‘and still!’ as he pulled off his first successful title defense of his IBF World Lightweight title at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Las Vegas against the Olympic gold medalist and elite amateur on the fast track in Cruz, a Cuba native who trains in Philadelphia (6-1, 6 KOs).
Scores were 118-110 (Tim Cheatham) and 116-112 (Steve Weisfeld) for Muratalla, with the third card even (Max DeLuca) for the majority decision to Muratalla.
“I’m a champion. At the end of the day, I came here do what I was supposed to do, and I got the win tonight,” said Muratalla.
Muratalla’s Experience Too Much For Cruz
Muratalla has power, speed, and footwork. But the difference was experience. It wasn’t merely the 17 pro bout edge Muratalla had on Cruz. It’s the trial by fire Muratalla has gone through in the unforgiving gyms and regional circuit in Southern California.
As talented as Cruz is, he and his team bit off a little more than he could chew. Muratalla fought on the front foot with smart pressure, and for the majority of the fight, he had better command of the ring real estate.
Muratalla did well going to the body of Cruz, and using his footwork to try and evade returning fire. He wasn’t always successful staying out of Cruz’s way, but he was successful enough.
“I knew he wasn’t able to be able to handle it (the pressure), and taking him into deep waters, 12 rounds, he wasn’t able to handle it,” explained Muratalla. “I wasn’t falling into his traps, and I was picking him apart, breaking him down round by round.”
Cruz Puts Up Solid Performance
It wasn’t as if Cruz was outgunned or fought poorly, far from it. But as boxing has been seduced by the impressive performances of talented amateur boxers and gold medalists like Vasiliy Lomachenko and Oleksandr Usyk, the expectations placed on Cruz were huge. Cruz said after the fight he believed he did enough to win, although he always feels he could do a bit more.
Cruz acknowledged himself he knew it wasn’t going to be an easy fight. “I said there was a reason why it was a world champion. And you know, today, he beat me, and I’ve not really got much more to say.”
Cruz was the favorite prior to the fight, and it was based in large part on the skill set he’d demonstrated in his early fights, as well as the improvement in his power as a pro credited to his decision to work with trainer Bozy Ennis in Philadelphia.
But Cruz’s pedigree didn’t matter to Muratalla. “I don’t care what his background was, who he was, where he’s from. It didn’t matter to me. I was in that gym working hard here to win, and I did that.
“I don’t know what he was planning to do. He was trying to counter me, but I wasn’t allowing that. I’m a champion. I deserve to be here. I worked my ass off to get here, and it’s showing.”
Robert Garcia Wins Trainer Showdown with Bozy Ennis
As much as it was a fight between the hard-working champion and the fast-rising challenger, it was also a matchup between two of boxing’s best trainers.
Robert Garcia is a difference maker. He knows how to prep his fighters with tough training camps and encouragement in the corner. Garcia gave Muratalla the edge to retain his title (as we predicted).
Derek “Bozy” Ennis has now seen Cruz and Stephen Fulton lose title fights. Garcia had Muratalla perfectly prepared.
What’s Next for Muratalla, Cruz?
Muratalla said he’ll have his eye on next weekend’s showdown between Shakur Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez, and would like to face the winner. Muratalla is a solid 135, and a move to 140 is in his future in any event.
As for Cruz, he knows what it’s like to take a loss and prevail in the end from his amateur career. “I was in there with a really good fighter in Raymond Muratalla. But you know, what I would say is that, I’m not happy with the defeat, but that’s life, and a defeat will not define me.”
Recall that Vasiliy Lomachenko, who is well on the road to the International Boxing Hall of Fame after his recent retirement, lost his first attempt to win a world title in a loss to Orlando Salido, but bounced right back to win his first world title against Gary Russell Jr. Cruz will gain the experience he needs to hold his own world title, sooner rather than later.
Scales Tip In Favor Of Khalil Coe Over Jesse Hart
With much of the boxing world rooting for the veteran Hart to punish Coe for his misdeeds, Coe of New Jersey (11-1-1, 8 KOs) managed to prevail in a lackluster effort against Hart of Philadelphia (31-4, 25 KOs). Scorecards were 96-92 and 95-93 for Coe, with judge Patricia Morse Jarman seeing it even, as we did.
There is so much pressure on the B-side fighter to agree to take the fight with a little extra money. Hart, who has been fighting one-round contests in Team Combat League, came into the ring in good shape, but he is 36 years old. Coe likely came into the ring weighing more than 200 pounds, and it was the best weapon he had as he brawled and leaned on Hart.
Hart won the early rounds and was far more active on offense through the fight. But Hart visibly tired in the middle rounds, taking a hard shot from Coe in round seven. But Coe didn’t see it or couldn’t capitalize on it. Hart used his experience to suck it up and look fresh in the final two rounds, but it wasn’t quite enough.
By the numbers, Hart landed 92 of 326 punches thrown (28%) against 54 of 143 thrown by Coe (38%), but Coe landed the harder punches.
Referee Thomas Taylor docked Coe a point for throwing Hart to the canvas in round three, but evened it up when he penalized Hart for holding in the sixth round. Taylor made it clear he wouldn’t tolerate any misbehavior in the ring after a contentious lead-up to the fight.
Boxing needs to figure out a way to penalize egregious failures to make weight like Coe pulled, without forcing the B-side fighter to cave in to get paid. Perhaps the culprit should start the fight docked a point or two.
Madrimov Returns With A Win
Uzbek fighter Israil Madrimov (11-2-1, 7 KOs) found himself fighting two opponents on Saturday in his ring return.
Veteran Luis David Salazar of the Dominican Republic (20-2, 7 KOs) presented a solid enough challenge for Madrimov, coming back against two losses to Terence Crawford and Vergil Ortiz Jr. But Madrimov was also fighting a lingering and debilitating case of pneumonia dogging him for the last year. He has been working with medical professionals around the world to try and get it behind him.
While Madrimov’s skills saw him through to a decision win against Salazar, his conditioning isn’t up to par just yet. It made the last few rounds a long slog for him against Salazar, but he won the decision with ease. All three cards read 99-91.
Madrimov saved just enough energy for one of his trademark back somersaults after the win, and he stuck the landing, saying, “I love you guys. I’m fighting for you. Madrimov is back.”
American Prospects Go Two for Two
Two promising American prospects went the distance, showcasing their skill and delivering knockdowns on the way to their shutout decision wins.
Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Omari Jones of Orlando (5-0, 4 KOs) got a solid challenge from a determined but outgunned Jerome Baxter of Pittsburgh (7-1, 3 KOs). Jones delivered a first-round knockdown, and it looked like Baxter’s night would end early. But Baxter stuck it out thanks to a terrific chin and made Jones work to the final bell. All scores were 60-53.
Likewise, lightweight Zaquin Moses of Newark (6-0, 3 KOs) dropped Leander Medina of Argentina (7-3-1, 4 KOs) in their six-round bout with a nifty one-two, landing a right hand to the top of Medina’s temple. It’s a punch that ends the night for many fighters.
But Medina takes a good shot and, like we’ve come to expect from fighters in Argentina, he would not yield and traded with Moses to the end. Judges gave Moses every round with the cards the same as for Jones, 60-53.
Moses later said he was happy with his performance, even though he couldn’t stop Medina. He commented that Medina had a hard head, and punching him hurt his hands.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist and the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). She is the Managing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.