Raymond Muratalla may have just cemented his place as the best lightweight in the world.
Muratalla defeated Andy Cruz by majority decision (114-114, 116-112, 118-110) to retain his IBF world title Saturday night at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
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Even though Muratalla (24-0, 17 KOs) was the champion, he was the underdog in the bout largely due to Cruz’s amateur pedigree, which included a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The pair were both ranked in the top five at lightweight before Saturday night. Muratalla showed exceptional boxing skills to edge Cruz (6-1, 3 KOs) over 12 rounds and now has a claim to being the No. 1 135-pounder in boxing — particularly because Shakur Stevenson is currently situated at 140 pounds for his WBO title fight with Teofimo Lopez next Saturday in New York.
“I want to fight the biggest fights,” Muratalla said after his win. “I would like the winner of Shakur and Teo.”
Stevenson said earlier in the night on the DAZN broadcast that he expects to return to 135 pounds after his fight with Lopez because that is his natural weight. Should he do so, Stevenson and Muratalla could unify the titles in a fight that would be considered the No. 1 vs. No. 2 fight at lightweight due to Gervonta Davis’ latest round of legal issues.
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Another option for Muratalla is WBO champion Abdullah Mason, who defeated Sam Noakes in a Fight of the Year contender to win the title in November. Both Muratalla and Mason are with Top Rank, so the bout theoretically shouldn’t be difficult to make, however Top Rank is still without a U.S. broadcast partner.
Saturday’s 12-round bout between Muratalla and Cruz was boxing at its best. Despite Tim Cheatham’s criminal 118-110 scorecard, in reality every round was ultra-competitive and it was difficult to split the pair for the majority of the bout. The feeling was, however, that the championship rounds separated the champion from the challenger — that is to say, Muratalla edged out Rounds 11 and 12 to win the fight.
Cruz spent the majority of the contest on the back foot because Muratalla put him there seconds into the contest with front-foot pressure. Cruz’s jab and right hand were his money punches throughout the fight. The Cuban employed his sharp, slick style to frequently land those shots at long range and mid-range. Muratalla did his best work up close and with combination punching. The body work was tremendous from Muratalla, and he never stopped putting pressure on Cruz for 36 minutes.
There were many ebbs and flows in the fight. For example, Cruz looked to be on top for a short while, and then Muratalla would land to the body and back Cruz up with a right hand. The pressure looked to be getting to Cruz in the mid-rounds, and then Cruz, on the advice of trainer Derek “Bozy” Ennis, went up a gear in Rounds 8 and 9. Neither man could separate themselves from the other by much.
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Ennis believed that his charge, Cruz, needed to hold his ground and back Muratalla up because, in his own words, “[Muratalla] can’t fight going backward.” Cruz was unable to do this for sustained spells, though, and let Muratalla dictate the distance and control the bout, perhaps explaining the favorable scorecards for him.
Overall, Muratalla’s experience late was thought to be the difference in an extremely close fight, which had some split scoring among experts.
Check out complete results and highlights from Saturday’s Muratalla vs. Cruz fight card below, as well as Uncrowned’s play-by-play of the entire main card.
Main card results
IBF lightweight title: Raymond Muratalla def. Andy Cruz via majority decision (114-114, 118-110, 116-112)
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Light heavyweight: Khalil Coe def. Jesse Hart via majority decision (94-94, 95-93, 96-92)
Super welterweight: Israil Madrimov def. Luis David Salazar via unanimous decision (99-91, 99-91, 99-91)
Welterweight: Omari Jones def. Jerome Baxter via unanimous decision (60-53, 60-53, 60-53)
Super featherweight: Zaquin Moses def. Leandro Damian Medina via unanimous decision (60-53, 60-53, 60-53)
Live coverage is over70 updates
Sat, January 24, 2026 at 9:35 PM PST
Darshan Desai
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 9:30 PM PST
Darshan Desai
Three minutes to decide this one. Nobody knows who’s winning. It’s been a display of boxing brilliance.
Muratalla is up by 1 on DAZN’s scorecard; Uncrowned has it the opposite.
Nice two-one scores for Cruz. The challenger takes a right hand and fires back. Muratalla throws to the body. Cruz with a left hand; Muratalla — the same. One minute to go. They are trading up close. Muratalla throws a good combination. They trade rights. Nice pair of rights from Cruz. But Muratalla has won this round.
10-9 Muratalla, 114-114
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 9:26 PM PST
Darshan Desai
Two to go and both men need to win both rounds.
Left hand from Muratalla scores. Cruz fires a right hand in response. Clean jab for Muratalla. Muratalla throws a combination on the guard. Cruz with a nice 2-1. Chants of “Andy” ring around the arena. Body shots fired in from Muratalla. Cruz finding a home for his right hand. Muratalla flurrying on the inside. Nice pair of rights back Muratalla up. But now Muratalla lands to the body.
10-9 Cruz, 105-104 Cruz
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Sat, January 24, 2026 at 9:22 PM PST
Three rounds to go and this fight is still very close. DAZN has Muratalla up by 1; Uncrowned has it 1 the other way.
Some pressure from Muratalla. Cruz lands two nice right hands and then lands a combination. Muratalla returns with shots of his own. They will trade shots at close range. Muratalla eats a heavy jab. Muratalla is taking jabs but is swinging with the right hand and they are having an effect.
10-9 Muratalla, 95-95
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 9:18 PM PST
Darshan Desai
Bozy Ennis wants Andy Cruz to back Ray Muratalla up. Will he do it?
Cruz comes out with a combination and tries to do just that. Cruz lands a solid right. Muratalla connects on the guard. Nice right hand for Cruz. Cruz is now going to the body and breaks the guard with an uppercut. Right hand for Muratalla lands clean. Body shots score for Cruz. Muratalla lands a left hand. Cruz chops down with a right. All of these rounds are extremely close. Muratalla throws a combination as Cruz was backed up on the ropes.
10-9 Cruz, 86-85 Cruz
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 9:14 PM PST
Darshan Desai
Bozy Ennis told Andy Cruz that he’s one point behind entering Round 8.
Right hand lands for Cruz. Muratalla returns fire to the body. A pair of jabs land for Cruz. Back to the body goes Muratalla. Cruz chops down with a right and a few more straight punches land clean. Cruz is holding his feet and having some success now. Nice body shot. Left hook for Cruz. Muratalla fires back. Cruz lands with a right hand. Combination now. Muratalla isn’t as aggressive in this round, while Cruz is throwing more.
10-9 Cruz, 76-76
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 9:10 PM PST
Darshan Desai
Into the second half. Chants supporting both fighters are drowning each other out. Cruz’s jab is eeking him in front in the quiet moments. Muratalla fires at the body. Nice right hand for Cruz breaks the guard. Muratalla throws a flurry. Right hand a little after. Jab from Cruz, followed by a combination. Three-punch and then a body shot for Cruz. Flurry from Muratalla after a hard body shot.
10-9 Muratalla, 67-66 Muratalla
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 9:06 PM PST
Darshan Desai
The scores could be all over the place here. Muratalla by 1, Cruz by 1, Cruz by 3 — these are all probable scores.
Uppercut lands for Muratalla. Nice body shot and a combination upstairs. Good start to the sixth for the champion. Cruz lands a sharp combination but eats an uppercut. A pair of southpaw lefts breaks the guard from Cruz. Nice right hand from Cruz follows. Cruz goes downstairs with a hook and then finishes upstairs. Muratalla throws a combination on the guard. Nice uppercut for Muratalla lifts up the chin.
10-9 Muratalla, 57-57
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Sat, January 24, 2026 at 9:03 PM PST
Very competitive through 4 rounds. DAZN has it level.
They exchange jabs to open the fifth. Muratalla partially lands with a right. Nice body shot from Muratalla followed by a combination. Cruz comes back. Two shots to the body from Cruz and a combination follows. Muratalla attacking the body. Nice right hand catches Muratalla on the chin. And now some jabs. Clean right from Cruz. Another right lands. They trade shots on the inside. Cruz is in the southpaw stance. Muratalla lands to the body.
10-9 Muratalla, 48-47 Cruz
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 8:58 PM PST
Darshan Desai
Into the fourth and either men could be ahead here. Nice jab from Cruz stops Muratalla in his tracks. To the body goes Cruz. Left hand lands for Cruz from the southpaw stance. Cruz has outlanded Muratalla 43-37. Body shot from Muratalla and now a right hand chops down. Cruz lands with a jab. To the body scores the Cuban. Right hook from Cruz. One-two lands for Cruz. Cruz scores again with a right hand and follows up with a combination. Nice right again for Cruz. His best round of the fight.
10-9 Cruz, 39-37 Cruz
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 8:54 PM PST
Darshan Desai
Into the third. The second could’ve gone either way. Cruz begins Round 3 behind the jab and breaks the guard with a left. A right follows and now to the body. Good success for Crux early but then Muratalla lands a right hand. Body shots for Cruz. Muratalla breaks the gap and flurries at the guard. They exchange as Cruz was backed up. Both landed. Nice right hand connection for Cruz — and again. Muratalla landing to the body. Combination scores for Muratalla. Right hand lands for Cruz and then he pushes forward with a combination.
10-9 Muratalla, 29-28 Cruz
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 8:50 PM PST
Darshan Desai
Cruz is snapping out that jab. One-two is blocked by Cruz. Right hand partially connects for Muratalla. Cruz connects with a few jabs. Cruz is blocking the Muratalla right hand. Right hand partially connects for Muratalla again. Cruz is jabbing well. Nice one-two from Cruz. Now they exchange on the inside. Uppercut from Cruz. Cruz is using that jab brilliantly. Combination from Cruz to close. Close round!
10-9 Cruz, 20-18 Cruz
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 8:45 PM PST
Darshan Desai
Battle of unbeatens for the IBF lightweight title. The Olympic gold medalist is stepping up to a genuine world level in just his seventh pro fight.
Muratalla backs up Cruz straight away. Jab lands for Cruz. Cruz swings and misses. Cruz stabs to the body and lands a nice right hand counter seconds later. Another slip-right hand connects for the Cuban. Jab lands for Cruz. The speed is certainly in Cruz’s favor. Cruz chops down with a combination. Muratalla lands the uppercut on the inside. Another sharp jab for Cruz. He now switches to southpaw.
10-9 Cruz
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 8:38 PM PST
Darshan Desai
It’s main event time. Let’s do this!
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 8:36 PM PST
Darshan Desai
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 8:32 PM PST
Darshan Desai
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 8:28 PM PST
Darshan Desai
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 8:23 PM PST
Darshan Desai
Raymond Muratalla defends his IBF lightweight title against Olympic champion Andy Cruz in the night’s main event.
Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) was upgraded to IBF world champion this past June following Vasiliy Lomachenko’s retirement from the sport. He captured the IBF interim belt with a unanimous decision win over Zaur Abdullaev in May.
Cruz (6-0, 3 KOs) locked in his mandatory position with a one-sided stoppage victory over Hironori Mishiro in June. The 2020 Olympic gold medalist is considered to be one of the best amateurs of recent times and now looks to win his first world title.
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 8:18 PM PST
Darshan Desai
- Sat, January 24, 2026 at 8:14 PM PST
Darshan Desai
Both men need to win this round. Either guy could be ahead by one point.
Jab from Coe to begin the final round. Another jab scores. Short left hook scores for Hart. And now two more power shots catch Coe. What is Coe doing? Nothing. Very difficult tactic to understand. One minute to go and we could be headed for an upset. Jab connects for Coe. Another left scores for Coe.
10-9 Hart, 94-94