By News Editor 
In Las Vegas, Nevada, the first major championship bout of the year set the tone for 2026 as the boxing world increasingly demands more competitive fights and complementing styles. The jab and move is not enough to retain fickle audiences who are looking for beautiful, but equally definitive, sequences of violence. They received both in tonight’s Matchroom main event.
Coached by Robert Garcia, Raymond Muratalla showed grit, skill and power against an opponent who many picked to win in a boring and Unanimous Decision styled way.
Every Sequence of 3 rounds in this 12 Rounder Played Out This Way
Early in the 1st round, Raymond Muratalla pressed the action and applied pressure to challenger, famed Cuban Olympian, Andy Cruz. In the first 30 seconds, Muratalla realized that he could push back Cruz because Cruz was content with either countering or jabbing to victory. Nonetheless, Cruz was able to get the slight edge in this round due to a few more speedy counters.
In the second round, Muratalla begin to sit in the pocket a few more, hurting Cruz at the final minute such that he began to chase Cruz whose excellent conditioning allowed him to recover a mere 3 seconds later. However, Cruz for his part countered at times, but most observers saw this round go to Muratalla where he was able to connect body shots already and would throw double rights and a left hook. The way he drills on pads is the way he fights in the effective spurts of offense.
At the third round, Muratalla was punching double left hooks into Cruz to the right side of the body. Cruz could fight off the ropes , but much of his right hand counters were blocked by Muratalla’s broad shoulders. In a sense, every sequence of 3 played out this way where Muratalla would throw a varied set of shots. We believe these body shots prompted Cruz to switch stances so as to relieve tension in his torso.
4th, 5th BodyShots
The fourth round showed Cruz connecting multiple times against Muratalla with straight right hands. Andy Cruz did all this while evading, throwing and countering Raymond’s attack with jabs at the face and straight shots that were blocked at times, but flashy enough to sway anyone watching.
At the 5th round, Muratalla finished with a mean right hand to the body of Cruz. Cruz was landing quite a few potshot jabs and boxed in spurts that allowed him to still connect definitively.
At the 6th round, Muratalla landed a right hook at the 2:00 minute mark. Cruz for his part at 1:24 mark was able to land a right upper cut left hook combination that was impressive. Cruz offered his back a bit too much as he got clobbered as he evaded Muratalla’s body attack.
Ultimately, the fight went Raymond Muratalla’s way due to his composure and confidence where as an IBF Champion was placed in the unenviable position of going against a tough Olympic gold medalist. As a boxer, Cruz usually is able to control the first chunk of the fight where he controls the pace effortlessly. Muratalla pressured constantly and was expected to do so relentlessly as a part of his advantages. He performed to his expected level and was effective whereas Cruz was never able to definitively hold his ground and push Muratalla backwards.