On Saturday, July 3, lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla needed a second-half surge to beat former world champion Tevin Farmer and snag the 21st victory of his pro career. After 10 rounds of action, all three judges delivered the following scores in favor of the West Covina, California native: 97-92, 96-93 and 95-94.
With the victory, Muratalla maintains his position among the upper echelon of the lightweight division. He has consistently pushed to fight the best in the division, including Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Shakur Stevenson. However, he has recently keyed in on newly-crowned WBO Lightweight Champion Denys Berinchyk. Given that both fighters share the same promoter, Bob Arum’s Top Rank, it would seemingly be in reach.
Meanwhile, two-time world champion Tevin Farmer falls to 33-6-1 as he ends his three-fight winning streak. The Philadelphia native boxed and moved well throughout the first six rounds, earning a small lead on Mark Kriegel’s unofficial scorecard. In the second half of the fight, things seemingly fell apart. Farmer was docked a point for holding in the 8th round and buzzed by a punch from Muratalla in the 10th round. Ultimately, his first-half prowess was not enough to earn the victory. Having put together a decent showing, Farmer would become a potential opponent for other lightweights under the Top Rank banner, including Keyshawn Davis and Abdullah Mason.
