Pick it: Raymond Muratalla-Andy Cruz
When to Watch: Saturday, January 24 at 8pm Eastern Time (1am GMT)
How to watch: DAZN
Why to Watch: Raymond Muratalla, 23-0 (17 KOs), is the IBF lightweight titleholder. The 29-year-old from Fontana, California, is due to make his first defense – and on paper it is a tough one.
Muratalla turned pro in 2016 and developed into a contender on Top Rank broadcasts. In recent years he dispatched Jeremia Nakathila in two rounds, stopped the previously unbeaten Diego Torres Nunez in eight, outpointed Xolisani Ndongeni, took a unanimous decision over Tevin Farmer, and made short work of the 25-5 Jesus Antonio Perez Campos.
That landed Muratalla an interim IBF title fight in May 2025 against Zaur Abdullaev. With primary titleholder Vasiliy Lomachenko on the shelf and expected to retire, the winner of Muratalla-Abdullaev was likely to get an upgrade. Muratalla won a wide decision; Lomachenko officially hung up his gloves less than a month later.
Muratalla didn’t fight again for the remainder of 2025, which may or may not be due to the end of Top Rank’s contract with ESPN. But the IBF ordered him to defend against Andy Cruz, who is with Matchroom Boxing, which runs its shows on DAZN. Matchroom won the purse bid and of course is hoping to add another world title within its fold. Muratalla, meanwhile, would be sending quite a message if he beats Cruz.
The lightweight division is in flux. It’s uncertain when Gervonta “Tank” Davis – until recently the WBA titleholder; for now the “champion in recess” – will return amid his legal troubles; he had already been speaking of taking a sabbatical before. Shakur Stevenson, the WBC titlist, is challenging junior-welterweight champ Teofimo Lopez on January 31. Abdullah Mason, the WBO champion, is also with Top Rank, which one imagines would prefer two titleholders at 135lbs rather than pairing them against each other to wind up with one. Several name contenders are in the wings. Cruz has been among them.
Cruz is a top lightweight who is just 6-0 (3 KOs) as a professional, but that’s because he arrived in the paid ranks after an excellent amateur career in which he won Olympic gold in 2021. Cruz defeated Keyshawn Davis by decision in the tournament finale.
The 30-year-old Cruz lives in Miami, Florida, and has fought exclusively in the United States after signing with Matchroom Boxing and turning pro in 2023. Given his advanced age and skill level, Cruz has not wasted time against designated opponents but rather has gotten acclimated to pro boxing through bouts with measuring stick foes.
Cruz’s debut involved him going the full 10 rounds to win a decision against faded former featherweight title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos. In his fourth bout Cruz won a seventh-round stoppage against the 30-6-1 Antonio Moran. In 2025 Cruz widely outpointed the 20-1 Omar Salcido over 10 rounds in January and then defeated the 17-1-1 Hironori Mishiro via fifth-round TKO in June.
Although Cruz has spoken of continuing his amateur rivalry with Davis, that will have to wait given that Davis has outgrown 135lbs and moved up to 140.
The undercard at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas includes a light-heavyweight bout between Khalil Coe and Jesse Hart. Coe, 10-1-1 (8 KOs), last fought in May, when he avenged his 2024 TKO loss to Manuel Gallegos by stopping Gallegos in the sixth round. Hart, 31-3 (25 KOs), is a former super-middleweight title challenger who gave Gilberto Ramirez hell. Hart’s last traditional boxing match was in April 2024, though he was active in 2025 in the Team Combat League, going 16-3 in 19 one-round bouts on 10 dates.
Also on this show: former junior-middleweight titleholder Israil Madrimov, 10-2-1 (7 KOs), returns from his back-to-back losses to Terence Crawford and Vergil Ortiz Jnr by taking on Luis David Salazar, 20-1 (7 KOs); and Omari Jones, 4-0 (4 KOs), a junior-middleweight prospect who won a bronze medal in the 2024 Olympics, will continue his development against Jerome Baxter, 7-0 (3 KOs).
More Fights to Watch
Friday, January 23: Callum Walsh-Carlos Ocampo (Paramount+)
The main broadcast begins at 9pm Eastern Time (2am GMT). A preliminary undercard will start at 6pm ET (11pm GMT).
Walsh, 15-0 (11 KOs), is a junior-middleweight prospect who will headline the first-ever Paramount+ boxing card from Zuffa Boxing. The 24-year-old from Ireland has long been a staple of promoter Tom Loeffler’s shows on UFC Fight Pass.
Walsh also received a prime spot on the undercard of Terence Crawford’s win over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September, which White was also involved with promoting. On that show Walsh widely outpointed Fernando Vargas Jnr.
Ocampo, 38-3 (26 KOs), is a 30-year-old from Mexico. His defeats came to welterweight titleholder Errol Spence via one-round KO in 2018, Sebastian Fundora via unanimous decision in 2022 in an interim title bout at 154lbs, and Tim Tszyu, who blasted him out in 77 seconds in 2023 in another interim junior-middleweight title bout. Ocampo has won three straight since, all in 2025. The most recent victory was in October, with Ocampo scoring a third-round KO against an 18-13-1 foe.
Walsh-Ocampo will be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main undercard includes a battle of unbeaten middleweights Misael Rodriguez, 15-0 (7 KOs), and Austin Deanda, 17-0 (11 KOs), plus a welterweight bout featuring Julian Rodriguez, 24-1 (15 KOs), against Cain Sandoval, 17-0 (15 KOs).
Friday, January 23: Jose Tito Sanchez-Jesus Ramirez Rubio (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 11pm Eastern Time (4am GMT).
Sanchez, 14-0 (8 KOs), is a junior-featherweight prospect who last fought in October 2024, when scoring an eighth-round TKO of the 18-5-3 Edwin Palomares. The 26-year-old from Cathedral City, California, was sidelined by an injury in 2025.
Ramirez Rubio, 23-4-3 (17 KOs), is a 29-year-old from Mexico. He’s gone 2-3 in his past five fights, with those three defeats all coming against familiar names: a one-round TKO to Nick Ball in 2022, a ninth-round KO against Ramon Cardenas in 2024 and a ninth-round TKO at the hands of Katsuma Akitsugi that same year. Ramirez Rubio’s sole wins during that stretch were knockouts of a 9-16-2 foe in 2023 and a 6-6-1 opponent in December 2025.
The card will take place at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California.
Saturday, January 24: Lorenzo Powell vs. Alejandro Medina de la Rosa (BASH TV)
The broadcast begins at 9pm Eastern Time (2am GMT).
Powell is a lightweight with a record of 5-0 (2 KOs), and all of his opponents having lost more than they’ve won. That won’t change on this show.
Medina de la Rosa is 3-7 with 3 KOs, and he has never beaten anyone with a single win on their record. That likely won’t change either. It will cost you $30 to see for yourself.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
