It's been an excellent start to the year for boxing expert Chris Oliver, who now has two selections for Saturday night.
Boxing betting tips: Saturday action
3pts Andry Cruz to win by decision at evens (Betway - 10/11 general)
1pt Khalil Coe to win by decision at 6/5 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power)
ANDY CRUZ can become a world champion in just his seventh professional fight when he challenges Raymond Muratalla for the IBF lightweight title in Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Having won the world championships on three occasions and picked up gold at the Olympics in 2021, Cruz is one of the best amateurs of his generation and that has allowed him to be fast tracked in the paid ranks.
Cruz (6-0, 3 KOs) has transitioned well but this is by far his toughest test to date, against an unbeaten champion with much more experience as a professional.
Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) picked up the interim title with a lopsided points victory over Zaur Abdullaev in May last year and he was subsequently upgraded to full champion when the great Vasyl Lomachenko announced his retirement.
He could have been forgiven for taking an easy fight in his first defence but, instead, he has gone in the opposite direction and opted for a very tricky assignment against the supremely talented Cuban.
Despite being the champion, Muratalla is a 12/5 chance for this DAZN-televised contest and Cruz is a best price of 4/9, which reflects the regard in which he is held.
Cruz has retained all the things that made him such a great amateur – speed, skills and reflexes – and has added some elements more suited to the professional game under top coach Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis. The 30-year-old has slowed his feet down a little and is happy to stand in the pocket more, as he looks to make his opponents miss and pay – which he does with expert precision.
Cruz has also become a good body puncher and mixes his shots up very well, as we saw in his last fight against Hironori Mishiro. Once he had his man hurt, Cruz unloaded on the Japanese fighter and showed us every shot in the book en route to a fifth-round stoppage.
However, Muratalla will be a much tougher test than Mishiro. The champion is a talented all-rounder and falls perfectly into the boxer-puncher category. Big for the weight, the 29-year-old can fight on the front or the back foot, while he has great timing and can be explosive in attack.
We saw this in his decision victory over Abdullaev last time out and, with 17 early wins, he is very much the puncher in this fight. If there is to be a stoppage, it is most likely to come from Muratalla and 4/1 is available about that outcome.
That said, the last time Muratalla faced a pure technician he was pushed to the wire by Tevin Farmer in July 2024. The latter’s silky skills made it tricky for Muratalla and he had to work very hard for a narrow victory that night.
Cruz is arguably much more skilful than Farmer and he may just have the style to outbox the champion here, with his most likely route to victory being via a decision.
The ring IQ of Cruz is second to none and his defensive movements can make it tricky for Muratalla to find a home for his shots. Cruz barely wastes a shot and his superb accuracy can allow him to rack up the points in what is likely to be a tactical affair.
Cruz has never been the full 12 rounds before and that could be a slight concern for favourite backers, but he has done 10 rounds on three occasions and I expect him to be in a clear lead come the business end of the fight.
Cruz to win by decision is a best price of evens and that looks the way to go in what could be a tense affair at times.
Chief support is provided by KHALIL COE versus Jesse Hart the for WBC USA light heavyweight belt.
The promising Coe (10-1, 8 KOs) avenged a shock defeat to Manuel Gallegos by halting the Mexican in six rounds when last seen in May and he is a 1/6 shot to continue his progress with a victory here.
Available at 6/1, Hart (31-3, 25 KOs) is much more experienced, having twice challenged for a world title at super middleweight, and he has won five on the spin since losing to Joe Smith Jr at this weight six years ago.
However, he is 36 now and this represents a big step back up in class from the limited opponents he has been facing during that time.
Coe could be too fresh and too good for the older man here, but Hart has never been stopped before and the favourite may have to go the full 10 rounds to claim victory on the scorecards.
Posted at 11:10 GMT on 23/01/26
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