As expected, former IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla officially vacated the belt over the weekend ahead of a planned move to 140. Per Cesar Seda, the sanctioning body has given its top two contenders, Artur Subkhankulov and Andy Cruz, 30 days to hash out a vacant title fight and avoid a purse bid.
Cruz (7-1, 4 KO), who lost an entertaining shootout with Muratalla in January, missed out on a final eliminator in June when Albert Bell withdrew at the eleventh hour. He wound up torching late replacement Abraham Montoya in three rounds and now finds himself in position to hop straight into a new title fight without the need for another pit stop.
34-year-old Subkhankulov (12-0, 6 KO) enjoyed a lengthy amateur career and is coming off a 12th-round stoppage of Tajik standout Bakhodur Usmonov. He actually fought Cruz to a split decision in the unpaid ranks back in 2019; he doesn’t have the highest profile, but he’s by no means another IBF Mandatory ™ handed a regional trinket and sent to die. He should make for a great rematch with Cruz; let’s hope their respective promoters are receptive to it.
