2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz is finally ready to get his chance to showcase his talents to the world with a title shot against IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla, slated for January 24, 2026 at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Cruz’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, of Matchroom Boxing, has already confirmed that the Cruz vs. Muratalla fight being targeted for January.
The Cuban Comet’s Arrival in Vegas
Cruz is considered the favorite over Muratalla in the eyes of fans, who see this fight ending the same way as the Cuban’s recent IBF title eliminator against Hironori Mishiro last summer on June 14. Cruz knocked out Mishiro in the fifth round to earn his mandatory spot.
Hearn won the purse bid for the Muratalla-Cruz fight with a winning bid of $888,888 on October 23rd. The fight was ordered on October 3, 2025.
Muratalla (28), who has been promoted to the highest ranking, is one of the biggest punchers in the lightweight division. He has looked mostly impressive recently, outscoring two of his last five opponents.
Where Muratalla struggled was in his fight against former IBF super featherweight champion Tevin Farmer on July 13, 2024. He was forced to go the 10-round distance against Farmer, who was hit hard in the first half of the bout.
Muratalla’s recent battles
- Zaur Abdullaev
- Jesus Antonio Perez Campos
- Tevin Boer
- Apologize to Ndongen
- Diego Torres Núñez
Cruz (6-0, 3 KOs) did not receive the same heavy promotion that former Matchroom fighter Shakur Stevenson did, despite his superior amateur credentials. He didn’t get the same pressure.
The amateur master becomes pro killer
While it is a rarity for a fighter with six professional fights to get a world title shot, the Cuban Cruz is a different story. With his record of 135-9 as an amateur in Cuba and his 2020 Olympic medal, he is in the same category as professionals with more than 30 fights.
Additionally, with a 4-0 record against former WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis while in the amateur ranks, Andy Cruz has shown that his talent is world championship level.
Cruz is arguably the #1 fighter in the 135-lb division. He was not allowed to prove himself as the best fighter in lightweight as Keyshawn, Shakur and Gervonta Davis ignored his existence. Cruz doesn’t have enough fights behind him, and he hasn’t promoted himself on social media or in interviews to create the kind of buzz that some fighters do.
The fight Shakur didn’t want
Unfortunately Andy Cruz is not the WBC mandatory challenger for Shakur Stevenson’s title as that would be more interesting for fans to see. Cruz is ranked No. 1 by the WBC, but the sanctioning body has been slow to order the fight.
It will be fun to see if Shakur would actually fight Cruz or vacate to move up to 140. Losing to Cruz would sink Shakur’s career and expose him as never having been as good as fans previously thought. It’s understandable why Stevenson has shown so little interest in fighting Cruz. He can do everything Shakur can, but with more speed and power.
Cruz is Cuban kryptonite for the New Jersey native. That’s why Shakur chose to fight guys like Josh Padley, Artem Harutyunyan and William Zepeda.
Last updated on 11/03/2025
