Raymond Muratalla of Fontana, CA improves to 13-0 with 11 knockouts. Last night Ray was the opening fight for the ESPN+ Pay Per View eventy for Terence “Bud” Crawford versus Shawn “Showtime” Porter. The fight took place at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Muratalla originally campaigned at the super lightweight division but has made his way down to 135 his last few fights. At this weigh-in he came in at 135.4 while his opponent came in at 137.
Muratalla was scheduled to fight in September on the undercard of Oscar Valdez versus Robson Conceicao in Tucson, AZ and then again in October in San Diego but circumstances kept him out of the ring. Then this great opportunity for him to be the opening bout for one of the biggest fights in 2021 presented itself. Muratalla even had an opponent change within the weeks leading up to the fight. His new opponent was Elias Damian Araujo of Argentina with a record of 21-3.
Muratalla started the fight with a slow pace and really took his time figuring out his opponent. Araujo had no problem fighting coming forward all night, eating punches in order to land one or two of his own. Muratalla fought with a lot of poise and confidence. In the biggest flurry Araujo landed on Muratalla, Muratalla replied with a left hook to the body, as to say if you keep this up you are going to pay. The fight was stopped in the fifth round by the referee and was heavily contested by Araujo. Last time I interviewed Muratalla he told me he’s done a lot of film study on Oscar DeLaHoya and Roy Jones Jr. It is evident from watching him in the ring that he has a similar style to both of these legendary fighters. He is quick to step back and make his opponent miss and his footwork lets him use the entire ring to his advantage. He is also extremely fast, countering his opponent with hard shots upstairs and downstairs.
Muratalla and his older brother Gabriel have been coached by their father their entire lives, Gabriel Muratalla Sr. Older brother Gabriel is currently an undefeated super bantamweight as well at 5-0 and scheduled to fight December 4th in Stockton, CA on a Toscano Promoted event. This has been Ray’s eighth fight with Robert Garcia of Riverside, CA. Robert serves as a co-manager and trainer role with both Ray and Gabriel. The future looks very bright for both fighters and I can’t wait for them to continue to shine in and out of the ring.
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