Raymond Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) wants a world lightweight title shot after his second-round KO victory over Jesus Perez (25-6, 18 KOs) on Saturday night in an ESPN televised fight in Verona, New york.
(Credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank)
#2 WBC and #2 WBO ranked Muratalla twice dropped Perez with left hands in the second round. Referee Charlie Fitch stopped shortly after the second round, which saw the condition in which the 27-year-old Perez chose not to let it continue.
Perez is a light welterweight and has weighed in at 147 in recent fights. He did not look strong, draining until 135 to be the opponent for Muratalla. In retrospect, Top Rank should have picked a true lightweight for Muratalla to fight rather than selecting a fighter who competed at welterweight and had little balls up to 200+ lbs.
Muratalla’s performance against Perez overshadowed the main event clash between WBC super featherweight champion Robson Conceicao and O’Shaquie Foster. This fight was barely watched between the two in their rematch, which was drowned out by the crowd at the Turning Stone Resort Casino.
Top Rank is believed to be positioning Muratalla to fight for the IBF lightweight belt next and is waiting to see if champion Vasily Lomachenko will retire. If the IBF belt becomes vacant, #4 Muratalla and #5 Zaur Abdullaev are expected to fight for it.
William Zepeda is the number one contender for the IBF title but will challenge Shakur Stevenson for his WBC belt in February. Keyshawn is ranked #2, but Top Rank is positioning him to challenge for the WBO title against champion Denys Berinchyk.
“I asked for these title shots, and they didn’t give me them. So, tonight, I showed that I deserve it. I want one of the champions,” said Raymond Muratalla ESPNfollowing his second-round fight win over Jesus Perez on Saturday night.
I wouldn’t say Muratalla proved he deserved a title shot after his win over Perez because he wasn’t an easy contender to beat. Perez is a light welterweight who came into the fight with a 1-2 record in his last three contests and looked weak.
For Muratalla to deserve a title shot, he would need to beat these types of contenders:
– Andy Cruz
– Guglielmo Zepeda
– Keyshawn Davis
– Edwin De Los Santos
“I’m ready for you (Vasily Lomachenko). I’m ready for Shakur. I’m ready for Berinchyk; I’m ready for any of the guys with a belt. I’m here; I’m just waiting for that call. I’m just waiting for his decision, and waiting for that call,” Muratalla said, waiting for IBF lightweight champion Lomachenko to decide whether to retire or fight next.
