On Saturday, at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Las Vegas, IBF lightweight world champion Raymond Muratalla will put his belt on the line against highly talented Cuban challenger Andy Cruz. Muratalla, who captured the interim title last May, was elevated to full world champion following Vasyl Lomachenko’s retirement from boxing. Cruz, a hugely decorated amateur, will get his first world title shot after just six professional bouts. The event will be broadcast live on DAZN.
Muratalla: a patient demolisher, but somewhat predictable
The Raymond Muratalla fight that offers the most insight ahead of this world title clash is undoubtedly the one he contested in July 2024 against Tevin Farmer, whose style can be compared—albeit with some differences—to that of Cruz. On that occasion, the current world champion showed both strengths and weaknesses, earning a deserved points victory in a fairly evenly matched bout.
In the early stages of that fight, Muratalla struggled to deal with Farmer’s elusiveness and appeared a bit too predictable in his attacking patterns, using the left hand mainly as a range finder and relying heavily on the straight right as his primary weapon. As the minutes went by, however, Raymond managed to raise the tempo and assert his clear physical superiority, also displaying a more than solid defensive awareness.
Cruz: proven technical skills, physical qualities yet to be tested
There is very little to debate when it comes to Andy Cruz’s technical skills. During his amateur career, the Cuban showcased a world-class repertoire, collecting one trophy after another. His résumé includes an Olympic gold medal, three world championship golds and two Pan American Games golds. Footwork, timing, jab control and razor-sharp slips are second nature to a fighter who moves around the ring as naturally as fish swim in the sea.
Some observers, however, have raised doubts about his physical attributes, particularly his punching power and chin. Cruz has won all six of his professional bouts decisively so far, but he has not given the impression of being a devastating puncher: he has gone to the scorecards three times, and when he has scored knockouts, it came only after landing a very high volume of punches. His slight wobble after taking a shot from Antonio Moran has further fueled talk about a supposed vulnerability.
What will happen? Boxe Punch’s prediction
When he faced Muratalla, Tevin Farmer had to deal with a significant size disadvantage. Visibly shorter and with less reach, the Philadelphia southpaw defended himself admirably but struggled to land effective counters, also due to the opponent’s imposing physical structure.
Cruz will not face the same gap. According to official measurements, the Cuban is slightly taller than Muratalla and, unlike Farmer, he does not come from lower weight classes; therefore, he should be able to implement his counterpunching style with less effort.
It is still unclear how the former Olympic champion will respond when forced into a hard, grueling fight—one of those battles that can only be won by gritting your teeth and showing the ability to suffer. Muratalla’s rather textbook boxing style, however, does not appear varied or unpredictable enough to push Cruz out of his comfort zone.
In my opinion, the challenger will control the first half of the fight with great authority, moving smoothly on his feet, making excellent use of his jab and exploiting his superior hand speed to build a clear lead on the scorecards, creating a significant gap in points.
Muratalla will then be forced to sacrifice power and explosiveness in a desperate attempt to land clean shots, but raising the pace will not prove as easy as it was against Farmer, and it is quite likely that, as the championship rounds approach, the champion will still find himself clearly behind.
At that point, his corner would obviously urge him to go for the knockout, and that is where his willingness to throw his heart over the obstacle would be tested, along with Cruz’s ability to maintain control as fatigue sets in.
Personally, I expect the Cuban to see the job through, perhaps resorting to a bit of clinching in the final rounds, and to prevail on points by unanimous decision. I therefore predict an Andy Cruz victory with a margin ranging between six and eight points.