It is doubtful that whoever emerges victorious in that battle will agree to take on the 29-year-old Muratalla. He’s not a big name, doesn’t have a huge fan base, and doesn’t have the charisma or theatrics for PPV. This is the reality. Muratalla is too soft spoken, and he is invisible on social media.
Turki Alalshikh, who is promoting The Ring 6 event on January 31, said that he is a “big fight” for the winner of the Lopez vs. Stevenson fight in May 2026. He did not name the opponent, but there is speculation that the winner will face Devin Haney. Teofimo recently said, “All roads lead to him vs. Haney.” This is the money fight that will attract fan interest, and one that will sell on DAZN PPV.
“It just shows that I have just as many skills, if not more,” said Raymond Muratalla Sean Zittelreflecting on his victory over Andy Cruz last Saturday. “We know he’s an Olympic gold medalist, and I’m not, but I have the skills tonight.
“I’d like the winner of Teo and Shakur next week,” Muratalla said when told that promoter Eddie Hearn said it sounded like he intended to move up to 140. “We’ll make that happen, too,” Muratalla said, on whether he’d be willing to fight Stevenson if he dropped down to 135.
Muratalla after his 12-round bout on Saturday in Las Vegas.
If Muratalla does move up to 140, he will have to defeat some of the top fighters to build his fan base to get fights against the big dogs, Teofimo and Shakur. Ideally, what Muratalla needs to do is fight these guys to get the marketing power he needs to attract the stars:
- Ernesto Mercado
- Gary Antoine Russell
- Jamaine Ortiz
- Alberto Puello
- Keyshawn Davis
“Whoever wins, whatever weight they want to fight, I’m there. I’m calling him out right now. Both of those fights are great fights. I think boxing will love it, and it is. It will be a tremendous fight, either one of them,” Muratalla said.
The odds of Muratalla getting the winner of the Lopez vs Stevenson fight are slim. Again, he will have to build his name by running a gauntlet through Mercado, Puello, Keyshawn, Antuanne and Jamaine. Those guys can hit, though, and they won’t be big by him or move to avoid contact like Cruz did.
