Morning after: Muratalla retains IBF title, Zuffa boxing debut recap
The IBF Lightweight title was on the line in Las Vegas on January 24th as Raymond Muratalla (now 24-0, 17 KOs) faced off against Andy Cruz (now 6-1, 3 KOs).
Having won gold at the 2020 Olympics, Cruz entered the contest with high expectations and was widely favoured to claim his first world championship.
Muratalla, however, was elevated to a world title in 2025 following Lomachenko’s retirement. Muratalla previously held the interim title.
After 12 rounds of action, Muratalla leveraged his experience and pressure to gain the upper hand against Cruz winning by majority decision.
The championship rounds were crucial as Cruz had never competed beyond 10 rounds, unlike Muratalla who had gone the full distance once against Zaur Abdullaev (21-2, 13 KOs).
The scorecards read 118-110, 114-114, 116-112.
Currently, Muratalla has his eyes on the super lightweight division and will be keenly watching the upcoming fight between Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) and Shakur Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs).
There’s also a chance for unification or undisputed status in the lightweight division for Muratalla. Gervonta Davis (WBA), Shakur Stevenson (WBC), and Abdullah Mason (WBO) hold the remaining belts.
Teofimo and Shakur will compete on January 31st for Teofimo’sWBO and Ring super lightweight championships in another eagerly awaited bout.
The previous day marked the debut of Dana White’s ZuffaBoxing at the Meta Apex, featuring a main event between Callum Walsh (16-0, 11 KOs) and Carlos Ocampo (38-4, 26 KOs).
Walsh secured a unanimous victory over Ocampo, extending his record to 16-0. In the prelims, Robert Meriwether III (10-0, 4 KOs) secured a unanimous decision victory over Cesar Correa (5-1, 4 KOs) in a fight that saw both fighters’ stock rise. Correa showed incredible grit and kept going even when he was hurt.
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p class=”s6″>White stated that Zuffa boxing is still developing and will improve with time. He said: “We have a lot of work to do this year. Tonight was a solid night. The fights were great, and watch what we do over the next year. We’re just going to get better and better and better.”
In the realm of mixed martial arts, the UFC hosted its first event of the year, partnering with new broadcaster Paramount+.
Justin Gaethje (27-5) was crowned the new interim lightweight champion after defeating Paddy Pimblett (23-4) in a hard-fought battle.
In bantamweight action, contenders Sean O’Malley and Umar Nurmagomedov defeated Song Yadong and DeivesonFigueiredo, respectively, by unanimous decision.