Raymond Muratalla feels a little slighted and he may have a right to be. He beat Tevin Farmer in July and expected to get a title shot.
Instead, he got Jesus Perez on Saturday night in the Robson Conceicao-O’Shaquie Foster WBC junior lightweight rematch from Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.
Poor Perez.
Someone had to pay for Muratalla’s pent-up frustration, and it ended up being Perez.
Muratalla, The Ring’s No. 6 lightweight, knocked Perez down twice and stopped him for the first time in his career.
Raymond Muratalla, The Ring’s No. 6 lightweight, wants all the titles (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Muratalla (22-0, 17 knockouts) now takes on names, from IBF titlist Vasiliy Lomachenko, to WBO titlist Denys Berinchyk, to WBC titlist Shakur Stevenson.
“I come for those champions, I still have it,” Muratalla said. “I don’t know what people are talking about, I’m here. I ask for these title shots and they don’t give them to me. Tonight I prove that I deserve any of those champions.
“I’m ready for (Lomachenko), Berinchyk, Shakur. You saw tonight what I’m capable of.”
Muratalla hit Perez (25-6, 18 KOs) with some blitz in the first round, firing his right to the body and snapping Perez’s head back with a straight right. Muratalla finished the round with a left hook to the head with 19 seconds left in the round.
HE WANTS THAT TITLE FIGHT 😤
Raymond Muratalla answers the call and gets the Round 2 KO! pic.twitter.com/RKv7fBPD2M
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) November 3, 2024
With 2:52 left in the second, Muratalla nailed Perez with a perfect right to the chin under the jab, sending Perez down prone. Muratalla worked well from his jab and set up his power shots. With 2:01 left in the round, Muratalla put Perez down a second time with another short right.
Referee Charlie Fitch wisely stepped in and stopped it at 1:24 of the second.
Bryce Mills is a sharp 23-year-old junior welterweight who looked impressive on the Conceicao-Foster undercard (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Fighting in front of his hometown, Bryce Mills, a sharp 23-year-old junior welterweight, used levels well and Mike Ohan Jr. excepted by a fifth-round stoppage in a scheduled eight-round fight. Mills (17-1, 6 KOs) landed 42% of his punches and Ohan Jr. (19-4, 9 KOs) carried.
Junior lightweights Abraham Nova (23-3-1, 16 KOs) and Humberto Galindo (14-3-3, 11 KOs) fought to a 10-round split draw.
At 1:52 of the eighth and final round, middleweight Jahi Tucker (13-1-1, 6 KOs) stopped Quilisto Madera (14-5, 9 KOs). Heavyweight Ali Feliz (4-0, 3 KOs) stopped Rashad Coulter (5-5, 3 KOs) at 1:34 in the second of a scheduled six-rounder.
In a scheduled 10-round featherweight bout, Yan Santana (13-0, 12 KOs) stopped Eduardo Baez (23-7-2, 9 KOs) at 1:57 of the fourth. Polish heavyweight Damian Knyba (14-0, 8 KOs) started the night by stopping Richard Lartey (16-7, 13 KOs) at 2:10 of the third round of a scheduled eight-rounder.
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has worked for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito
