Lightweight contender Raymond ‘Danger’ Muratalla 19-0 (16) was the standout performer last weekend with his dominant eighth-round knockout of Diego ‘Azabache’ Torres 18-1 (17) at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Lake Tahoe, Nevada on Saturday night.
It was a polished performance from the 26-year-old Californian, who boxed smartly to break down Torres en route to the stoppage victory. Muratalla dropped Torres with a fast combination in the eighth and although the 26-year-old Mexican beat the count, referee Celestino Ruiz waved off the contest at the 1:45 mark.
Muratalla was leading 70-63 on all three judges’ scorecards when bout was halted.
ESPN’s Tim Bradley was full of praise for Muratalla, labelling him the boogeyman of the deep 135-pound division.
“He’s the most dangerous 135-pounder right now in the world right now, right next to Shakur Stevenson. He goes about his business differently,” Bradley said.
“You know Shakur Stevenson, a southpaw, a great technician and great defence. Muratalla, you saw great defence tonight. You saw a completely dominant performance from him against a good-quality opponent who came in undefeated and he made it look easy.
“When you make things look easy like that, it shows what level your on. We always say there are levels to this game. He fought an undefeated guy that came in full of confidence, and he took his confidence away from the opening bell.
“He walked him down and did exactly what he wanted to do. He took his best punch away from him, which is his left hook, and was able to stop him. What more can you ask for?
“Moving forward, this is a kid that deserves a title shot, he really does. We don’t know what [WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine lightweight champion Devin] Haney is going to do after he fights against [WBC junior welterweight champion] Regis Prograis, but I can tell you this and assure you this, if [Muratalla] were to fight Devin Haney, I would put my money on Muratalla.”
Bradley’s co-commentator Mark Kriegel was also impressed, if more subdued in his praise.
“[Muratalla] finally said Devin Haney because Devin Haney has three of the belts. It’s not his style to call people out. It’s a terrible thing to think that works to his detriment,” Kriegel said.
“What I saw in there tonight was a disparity in strength, the disparity in presence, but if you think about what Torres came in as, a guy undefeated in 18 fights with 18 knockouts, there was nothing he could do.
“Muratalla was patient, he was precise, but I was really impressed by how strong he was. He imposed his will in every single way. If it comes down to it, I wouldn’t mind seeing him against Shakur after the De Los Santos fight. Yes, I am predicting that Shakur wins.
“Nothing against De Los Santos, but I think that would be a perfectly respectable fight. Based on his experience level and what we’ve seen tonight, he’s naturally bigger than Shakur. Shakur, at this point, is a big lightweight himself. [But] I agree, I’d put him in with anybody.”
