It’s doubtful that whoever emerges victorious in that fight will agree to face the 29-year-old Muratalla. He’s not a big name, lacks a large fan base, and doesn’t possess the charisma or theatrical presence for PPV. That’s the reality. Muratalla is too soft spoken, and he’s invisible on social media.
Turki Alalshikh, who is promoting The Ring 6 event on January 31st, has said that he has a “big fight” for the winner of the Lopez vs. Stevenson fight in May 2026. He hasn’t mentioned the opponent, but it’s speculated that the winner will face Devin Haney. Teofimo said recently, “All roads lead to him vs. Haney.” That’s the money fight that will attract fan interest, and one that will sell on DAZN PPV.
“It just goes to show that I’ve got just as much skills if not more,” said Raymond Muratalla to Sean Zittel, reflecting on his win over Andy Cruz last Saturday. “We know he’s an Olympic gold medalist, and I’m not. But I’ve got the skills tonight.
“I would like the winner of Teo and Shakur next week,” said Muratalla, when told that promoter Eddie Hearn said it sounds like he’s planning to move up to 140. “We’ll make that happen, too,” said Muratalla, on whether he would be willing to fight Stevenson if he drops back down to 135.
Muratalla after his 12-round bout on Saturday in Las Vegas.
If Muratalla does move up to 140, he’s going to need to defeat some of the top fighters to build up his fan base to get fights against the big dogs, Teofimo and Shakur. Ideally, what Muratalla should do is fight these guys to gain the marketing clout he needs to lure the stars:
- Ernesto Mercado
- Gary Antuanne Russell
- Jamaine Ortiz
- Alberto Puello
- Keyshawn Davis
“Whoever wins, whatever weight they want to fight at, I’m there. I’m calling him out now. Both of those fights are great fights. I think boxing would love that, and that’s that. It would be a tremendous fight, either one of them,” said Muratalla.
The chances of Muratalla getting the winner of the Lopez vs. Stevenson fight are slim. Again, he’s going to have to build his name up by running a gauntlet through Mercado, Puello, Keyshawn, Antuanne, and Jamaine. Those guys can punch, though, and they wouldn’t be out-sized by him or moving to avoid contact the way Cruz did.
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