Lightweight Raymond Murata is hoping a win on Saturday night at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas will put him on the path to the title fight he's pursuing.
The 27-year-old Muratala (21-0, 16 KOs), from Fontana, California, had a tough fight but ultimately won a 10-round unanimous decision over former junior lightweight titleholder Tevin Farmer.
After the fight, Muratala, a man rarely talked about among the lightweight stars, didn't hold back. Sitting in the ring with his trainer, Robert Garcia, and his father, co-trainer Gabriel Muratala Sr., Muratala said simply: “Next time, I want a champion.”
Murata has his sights set on Ukrainian WBO lightweight champion Denis Belinchyk, who beat Emmanuel Navarrete to win the vacant title in May.
“Belinchik called my name,” Murata said. “I'm calling his name now.”
Murata also expressed interest in challenging for the WBC lightweight title held by three-division world champion Shakur Stevenson, who recently came out of contract with Top Rank and has publicly said he is open to offers from all organizations.
“If we can't get Berinczyk, we want to get Shakur,” Muratala said.
Muratala had to be resourceful against Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs), a 33-year-old Philadelphia native. According to CompuBox, Muratala landed 106 of 481 punches thrown, while Farmer landed 109 of 446. The highlight of the bout was the final seconds of the fight, when Muratala gained momentum in the seventh round and seemed shaken when referee Thomas Taylor deducted points for excessive holding by Farmer. Muratala out-competed Farmer from rounds seven through ten to win the fight.
“I just had to keep applying pressure. He was moving around. He was stomping around. So I had to keep applying pressure and we got the win,” Murata said after the fight. “I just kept applying pressure consistently. I just kept applying pressure. My team told me to keep applying pressure. I just kept beating him round after round.”
