Raymond Muratalla and Andy Cruz once again did their job at the scale.
Both boxers were within the same-day rehydration limit ahead of their IBF l35lbs title fight. California’s Muratalla, 23-0 (17 KOs) – the defending titleholder - was 144.4lbs on Saturday morning, while Cuba’s Cruz, 6-0 (3 KOs), weighed 143.2lbs.
The maximum that both could weigh during the second-day weight check was 145lbs. IBF-sanctioned fights require participants to not weigh heavier than 10lbs above the contracted limit during the session.
Their bout will headline a DAZN show this Saturday from Fontainebleau Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Muratalla was officially 134.6lbs during Friday’s pre-fight weigh-in for the first defense of his IBF lightweight title, having added 9.8lbs in that time. Cruz – an Olympic gold medalist for Cuba during the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics – was 134.4lbs for his first shot at a major title, adding less than 9lbs to his lean frame in the past 24 hours.
While both Muratalla and Cruz arrived like professionals, the same could not be said of co-feature participant Khalil Coe who faces Philadelphia’s Jesse Hart.
The New Jersey-based light heavyweight was a beefy 182.8lbs, nearly 8lbs above the division limit. He was stripped of his regional WBC belt, which is now only at stake for Hart, 31-3 (25 KOs), a former two-time major title challenger who weighed a fighting fit 174.6lbs on Friday.
Coe, 10-1-1 (8 KOs), was forced to pay a 30 percent fine from his reported $100,000 purse. Their fight will move forward, largely on the insistence of Hart who was already forced to wait three months for this matchup after Coe withdrew from their scheduled October 11 date due to a reported hand injury.
The main event also came with its share of delays, though none related to injuries or weight issues.
Muratalla won the interim version of the IBF belt in a May 11 unanimous decision over Zaur Abdullaev in San Diego, California. He was upgraded one month later when full titlist Vasiliy Lomachenko – a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and three-division titleholder – announced his retirement last June.
Shortly thereafter, Cruz became the mandatory challenger after a 5th round knockout of Hironori Mishiro last June 14 in New York City. Top Rank and Matchroom Boxing, the respective promoters for Muratalla and Cruz, huddled in an effort to reach a deal over the summer. The promotional outfits seemed aligned with the terms, but all involved parties seemed to point to Muratalla’s team as the culprit in holding up the fight.
The matter eventually went to a purse bid hearing, won by Matchroom who held the fight to headline its first U.S. show of the year.
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.
