Cruz looked acute with restricted exposure. His Cuban foundation is evident in the way he moves and controls distance. Bozy Ennis claims that he did not try to rebuild Cruz’s style, but only complemented it. This sounds reasonable until you remember that it hasn’t been tested by anyone who could exploit the vulnerabilities in this approach.
Muratalla brings another problem. He is not a polished boxer, but he applies pressure and forces his fighters to fight in close quarters. If Cruz can keep him at bay and get off his back foot, things could go smoothly. If Muratalla drags him into exchanges and makes it ugly, we’ll learn more about Cruz in one night than in six fights combined.
The IBF recognizing this fight as a title fight says more about the organization’s priorities than Cruz’s readiness. Alphabetical titles are awarded based on rankings, which change for reasons no one outside the office can track. Cruz may be a future champion, but putting him in this spot is like building hype before confirming the fundamentals.
Cruz is ready
“This fight is the most crucial fight of my career,” Cruz said in training footage published by Matchroom. “At that point I just had to prove it and that’s what I’m doing, put on a great performance and remain champion that night.” He calls himself a champion before he won the belt. Either self-confidence or promotional thinking dominates.
He added: “Since I came to the United States, I have always known that I had what it takes to be here. I am aware that each fight will be more tough for me. As I climb the ranks, the fights become more and more tough. This is my first shot at the title, so the preparation for each camp has to be more intense, with more desire and with more heart for me to achieve my goal.”
Consciousness exists, but consciousness and experience are not the same. Cruz also said something worth noting: “My style comes from Cuba. So instead of changing it, I made adjustments, combining Cuban boxing and the boxing style learned here can give good results. Talent without work is nothing.”
This fight will either confirm that Cruz belongs at this level or expose him as a prospect who was pushed too quickly. Muratalla is not a name fighter, but he has fought tougher opponents. If Cruz handles him cleanly, the hype will start to look justified. If he struggles, we’ll go back to figuring out why he was in this place in the first place.
Date: Friday, January 24, 2026 Start time: 19:00 ET (12:00 GMT on Saturday) Streaming platform: Live on DAZN Premises: Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona
Tom Galm has been covering the global boxing scene since 2014, specializing in heavyweight analysis, business trends and fighter psychology.
Before their meeting, many suspected Spence was the top dog at 147 pounds, even after a life-threatening car accident in 2019.
He eventually recovered from the traumatic incident with back-to-back victories over Danny Garcia and Yordenis Ugas, but suffered an undisputed defeat against Crawford.
As a result, Spence is set to make his long-overdue move to 154 pounds before his next appearance, with Report from the boxing scene that he will face former super welterweight champion Tim Tszyu on July 25 in Australia.
It was also recently reported that Tszyu had named Jeff Fenech as head coach after he fired his training team for the second time in three fights.
This followed the Australian’s unanimous decision victory over Denis Nurja in Wollongong, Australia earlier this month, which followed an equally dominant triumph over Anthony Velazquez in December at the TikTok Entertainment Center in Sydney.
Meanwhile, the 31-year-old lost in the seventh round to Sebastian Fundora in July 2025 during his last meeting at world level.
Tszyu previously lost a split decision in their first meeting before finding himself facing a three-round demolition task against Bakhram Murtazaliev in 2024.
Eddy Reynoso may have said more than he intended when discussing Canelo Alvarez’s next move, as his comments pointed less to Christian Mbilli and more to the winner of next week’s Jaime Munguia-Armando Resendiz fight
Canelo is expected to return to Riyadh for the season in September after recovering from surgery on his left elbow. Reynoso told Ring magazine that the plan remains super middleweight and named several possible opponents, including Mbilli. However, the strongest language in the interview was the conversation about the May 2 fight between Munguia and Resendiz for the WBA title.
“This time it’s Munguia against Resendiz in a pan-Mexico fight on a pan-Mexico card,” Reynoso told Ring Magazine, discussing Cinco de Mayo weekend. “This is going to be an amazing fight and we are prepared to win. This fight is going to be so good that it will steal the show. They have the ingredients to distract from the main event.”
This was unique because Reynoso trains Munguia and has a direct stake in the outcome, but it also sounded like early preparation for what comes next. If Munguia wins, a rematch with Canelo will be an straightforward sell to the Mexican crowd and an straightforward one to build to. If Resendiz wins, he will arrive with the belt and fresh momentum.
After his recent victory over Lester Martinez, Reynoso mentioned Mbilli as a “massive challenge,” but the tone was different. This sounded like one option on the list as the Munguia-Resendiz fight gained full popularity.
Canelo’s team has also ruled out other routes. Reynoso said the David Benavidez fight is now over and suggested there is little chance of seeing it again. Staying at 168 pounds also reduces the likelihood of a rematch with Dmitry Bivol.
This leaves less room than it initially seemed. When camps start praising one fight with such a hard month ahead of time, it’s usually worth paying attention to.
Floyd Mayweather’s last knockout victory over a legal opponent came in 2011 against Victor Ortiz, but despite the stoppage loss, the fighter known as “Vicious” claims he once fought a much better opponent.
It was a highly controversial moment when Mayweather knocked out Ortiz for the WBC welterweight title more than a decade ago, and the fourth round of their fight turned out to be full of drama.
Ortiz threw combinations on the ropes against Mayweather, but then got reckless and led with his head, prompting the referee to deduct a point.
With Ortiz paying no attention to the resumption of the fight, Mayweather fired a tough shot that knocked down and then knocked out his opponent, proving the elderly adage to always protect yourself.
Mayweather is undoubtedly the biggest name Ortiz has ever adopted, but while the boxing legend can be considered one of the best of all time, Ortiz told TalkSport that Andre Berto was better.
“He (Mayweather) is not the best opponent I’ve faced. Without a doubt, not. The best opponent I’ve faced was Andre Berto; he was much better. Andre Berto is a top-shelf pound-for-pound king. He knocked me down, I knocked him down, he got up, he knocked me down again.”
“This man showed everything: quality, heart, skill. Whatever, he’s got it. Someone like Floyd has what? Counter, running? That same year, I bought him some sprint shots at a press conference. My brother also bought him a box of tampons.
“But Andre Berto is special. I have the utmost respect for him. He has power in both hands; he is the total package. Someone with Floyd can’t compete with that.”
Ortiz defeated Berto to win the WBC welterweight title in a fight before facing Mayweather, which would be the first defeat of Berto’s professional career.
Berto’s final record was 32 wins and 6 losses, and during their meeting in September 2015, he suffered a one-sided defeat to Mayweather himself.
Mayweather competed just once again after the Berto fight, when he knocked out MMA fighter Conor McGregor in August 2017, although he is scheduled to return to fight former opponent Manny Pacquiao in September provided that the current problems can be solved.
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