Lightweight contender Raymond Muratala (21-0, 16 KOs) made a late comeback to defeat former super featherweight champion Tevin Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs) by a much closer 10-round unanimous decision in the main event on Saturday night at the Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
Early dominance of farmers
The 33-year-old Farmer dominated the younger Muratala, 27, throughout the first half of the bout, outstriking and outworking the much bigger and stronger Top Rank-promoted fighter and making it look like Muratala was at his limit while still proving he can compete at a high level.
Score:
– 97-92
– 96-93
– 95-94
The excitement at the end of Muratara
Muratala, the WBC No. 2, WBO No. 2 and IBF No. 4 ranked lightweight contender, fought back in the second half of the bout, using his size and power to overpower Farmer and knock him down with some hard punches.
In the eighth round, the referee penalized Farmer for holding, and although Farmer was not holding as much as the other fighters, including those on the undercard, the referee made a strict call in favor of A-side fighter Muratala.
At that point in the match, Muratalla needed all the help he could get to win, having lost many of the early rounds to the faster, more skilled Farmer.
Farmer tired from rounds seven through ten and was unable to maintain the pace he was on before closing out the show. Had Farmer kept himself busier he could have maintained his lead and closed out with a win.
Muratara needs to work harder
Muratala's performance was not what was expected to position him as one of the best fighters in the lightweight division.
Before tonight, Muratala had said he wanted to join the ranks of top fighters like Shakur Stevenson, Gervonta Davis, Dennis Belinchik and Vasiliy Lomachenko, but watching how Muratala fought Farmer, he is a sub-tier fighter and nowhere near the level of those fighters.
Top Rank has to figure out what to do with Muratala because he's not as strong as his 135-pound rivals Abdullah Mason and Keyshawn Davis. Muratala has written off fighting Keyshawn as a setback, but that's not the case. Keyshawn may be just one step away from Muratala.
