Matchroom Boxing<\/a>. \u201cMy mindset once I enter the ring. It just clicks for me and connects.\u201d<\/p>\nCruz enters the fight as the betting favorite. The Cuban standout is still early in his professional career, but his amateur background continues to define how opponents and oddsmakers view him. Cruz won gold at the 2020 Olympics and defeated Keyshawn Davis four times in the amateurs, including in the Olympic final.<\/p>\n
Asked directly whether he believed Muratalla wanted the fight, Cruz was blunt.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the outset, I didn\u2019t,\u201d Cruz said. \u201cThey know what they want for his career. But I came to take it all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cruz\u2019s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has said Muratalla had an opportunity to face Cruz last year but that negotiations stalled over money. Muratalla then explored a voluntary defense before the IBF stepped in and ordered the mandatory, removing that option.<\/p>\n
Muratalla disputes the suggestion that he turned anything down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been wanting to get these fights,\u201d Muratalla said. \u201cI wanted to get this belt just so I could make fights like this happen. I\u2019m definitely heading for this fight, and bigger fights after this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cruz, however, maintains that the earlier talks never progressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I signed the contract to make the fight, and we didn\u2019t get an answer from the other side,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Muratalla\u2019s response has been simple.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never received a contract,\u201d he said. \u201cI never received one until now.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the mandatory finally in place, the debate over who wanted the fight is no longer theoretical. It will be settled in the ring on January 24.<\/p>\n
Ken Woods has been a senior writer at Boxing News 24 since 2013, covering the sport from every angle. With years of ringside reporting, he delivers fight news, results, and analysis that cut through the noise. Ken\u2019s work consistently spotlights champions, contenders, and rising prospects, giving fans a sharp, knowledgeable view of the global boxing scene. His reporting blends on-the-ground event coverage with clear technical insight, making him one of the most reliable voices in modern boxing media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Muratalla has pushed back on the idea that he tried to avoid the fight. He has leaned instead…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347889,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-347888","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}