Raymond Muratalla and
Andy Cruz reportedly have a date and location set in stone for their title bout.
Muratalla, the IBF lightweight champ, will defend against Cruz, the former two-time Olympic gold medalist, on January 24 at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
BoxingScene.com was first to report the news.
Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing, Cruz’s promoter, won the right to stage the fight by outbidding Muratalla's handler Top Rank, which made the only other bid. Matchroom bid $888,888, Top Rank $550,000.
Muratalla will receive $577,777.20, 65% of the winning bid. Cruz will take home $311,110.80.
The 28-year-old Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) will be making the first defense of his 135-pound crown. He initially
won the interim version of that belt against Zaur Abdullaev on May 10. He has since been elevated to full champion following the sudden retirement of
Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Cruz (6-0, 3 KOs) became the mandatory challenger for that strap after dishing out a
one-sided beating of Hironori Mishiro on June 14 in New York’s Madison Square Garden, resulting in a fifth-round stoppage.