Raymond Muratalla is back in the Andy Cruz business – if he wants to avoid being stripped of his title, anyway.
BoxingScene has confirmed that the IBF has ordered a 30-day negotiation period for a fight between the two unbeaten lightweights. Top Rank and Matchroom Boxing, the respective promoters for Muratalla and Cruz, were instructed on Thursday to open talks for the mandatory title fight.
“Please be advised that IBF Lightweight Champion Raymond Muratalla is due to make the mandatory defense of the title [by] December 5, 2025,” IBF championships chairman George Martinez stated in a ruling obtained by BoxingScene. “The leading available contender in the division is #1 Andy Cruz.
“Negotiations should commence immediately and be concluded by November 2, 2025. If you are unable to come to an agreement for this bout within 30 days, IBF will call for a purse bid, pursuant to Rule 10.”
As previously reported by BoxingScene, Muratalla, 23-0 (17 KOs), originally planned to explore a voluntary defense before committing to a showdown with Cruz, 6-0 (3 KOs). At the time, the IBF indicated that California’s Muratalla had until February 10, 2026 – nine months from his interim title win over Zaur Abdullaev – to honor his mandatory.
The timeline has since sped up, as it is clear that no such fight is on the horizon for the reigning 135lbs titlist. Rumors of a targeted showdown with Floyd Schofield Jnr, 19-0 (13 KOs) proved to be false – never mind in advanced talks – when Schofield instead signed to face Joseph “JoJo” Diaz on a November 8 DAZN show.
Muratalla’s options are further limited by the fact that Top Rank is presently without a televised or streaming platform after its multi-year deal with ESPN expired earlier this summer.
Matchroom has been with DAZN since its 2018 U.S. launch and has every intention to secure the rights to this fight. The UK-based, global promotional outfit made a previous offer for the fight earlier this summer but was declined by Muratalla’s team.
Muratalla defeated Russia’s Abdullaev to win a secondary version of the IBF 135lbs title on May 10 in San Diego, California. The win came exactly 52 weeks after Vasiliy Lomachenko regained the full IBF title in a stoppage win over former lineal and unified champ George Kambosos Jnr.
Lomachenko had until October 9 to face Muratalla in a title consolidation fight but instead opted to retire from the sport. Muratalla was given an immediate upgrade but has not since made his way back to the ring.
Lomachenko’s retirement and Muratalla’s advanced title status also paved the way for Cruz to enter a final title eliminator. The 2020 Olympic Gold medalist for Cuba made proper use of the opportunity, a sixth-round stoppage of Hironori Mishiro on June 14 in New York City.
Cruz planned to return to the ring this fall if Muratalla moved forward with a voluntary defense. He and his team will instead spend the next 30 days either working on a deal or requesting an immediate purse bid, which either side can do at any point during the negotiation period.
Per IBF rule 5.D covering mandatory title fights, both fighters are obligated to honor the abovementioned ruling and negotiate in good faith.
Should Muratalla – as the defending titlist – fail to move forward with the fight, he will be stripped of the title.
Any effort by Cruz to go in another direction will result in his being dropped out of the top 10 IBF 135lbs rankings and ineligibility to fight an IBF-sanctioned bout for at least six months.
