Lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (21-0, 16 KOs) staged a late rally to edge former super featherweight champion Tevin Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs) by a closer-than-expected ten-round unanimous decision on Saturday night in their headliner at the Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
Farmer’s Early Dominance
Farmer, 33, showed he could still fight at a high level as he outboxed the younger 27-year-old Muratalla through the first half of the fight, making him look limited, hitting and schooling the much bigger and more powerful Top Rank-promoted fighter.
The scores:
– 97-92
– 96-93
– 95-94
Muratalla’s Late Surge
#2 WBC, #2 WBO, and #4 IBF lightweight contender Muratalla rallied in the second half of the fight, using his size and power to walk down Farmer to get the better of him with hard punches.
In the eighth round, the referee penalized Farmer for holding. He wasn’t holding that much compared to some fighters, partially ones on the undercard, but this referee was playing it strictly, and it worked in favor of the A-side fighter Muratalla.
At that point in the fight, Muratalla needed all the help he could get to win because he had lost many early rounds to the faster, more skilled Farmer.
Farmer was exhausted in rounds seven through ten and couldn’t keep up the same pace as he had earlier to close out the show. If Farmer had been busier, he would have maintained his lead and closed it out with the victory.
More Work Needed for Muratalla
Muratalla’s performance was not the type he was looking for to place him among the best fighters in the lightweight division.
Before tonight, he had said he felt he belonged among the top guys like Shakur Stevenson, Gervonta Davis, Denys Berinchyk, and Vasily Lomachenko. But after the way Muratalla fought against Farmer, he’s a fringe-level fighter and is nowhere near the level of those fighters.
Top Rank will have to figure out what to do with Muratalla because he’s not as good as their contenders in the 135-lb weight class, Abdullah Mason and Keyshawn Davis. Muratalla had ruled out fighting Keyshawn, saying it was a step backward for him, but that’s not the case. Keyshawn might be a step too far for Muratalla.
