Raymond Muratalla (left) and Tevin Farmer face off. Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Position
LAS VEGAS – It wasn't Raymond Muratalla's best performance, but it was enough for the lightweight contender to win.
Muratalla, who is he? rated No. 6 in The Ring at 135 pounds, defeating former 130-pound belt holder Tevin Farmer by a 10-round unanimous decision Saturday night inside the Pearl Theater at The Palms Resort Casino.
The scores were 97-92, 96-93, and 95-94 for Muratalla, who improved to 21-0, 16.
From the opening bell, Muratalla took Farmer down, forcing the veteran to fight on his back foot or his back against the ropes. Farmer did well, holding the ground at times, looking to throw jabs or straight left hands to Muratalla's body.
As the contest progressed, Farmer did well to counter Muratalla, using angles or trying to time him with a hook or counter to the head. Muratalla was in excellent form when they started trading, finding success throwing and landing jabs followed by straight right hands that split Farmer's guard.
Farmer did well in Round 5, connecting with left crosses to Muratalla's head. As the fight progressed into the middle rounds, Farmer mixed up his attack by landing hooks to the head.
From Round 6, Farmer threw punches and combinations with more conviction. He scored repeatedly with straight left hands to the head and began trading blows between the two, especially during Round 7.
Muratalla tried to put Farmer on his back foot, where he would land a flurry of punches. This tactic worked at times, but Muratalla sometimes annoyed him, which led to both fighters getting involved.
In the eighth round, Farmer was stripped of a point for holding referee Thomas Taylor. It was a crucial moment during the battle as the round was about to be played.
With about a minute left in Round 10, a right cross from Muratalla surprised Farmer, who held on, and to his credit, was still looking to score with hooks and crosses.
In his last fight, on March 29, the 27-year-old defeated Xolisani Ndongeni by unanimous decision.
Farmer, who lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, falls to 33-6-1, 8 KOs. The 33-year-old has won his last three fights in a row. In January 2020, Farmer lost his IBF junior lightweight title to Joseph 'JoJo' Diaz via unanimous decision.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has handled boxing in Southern California and internationally since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. They can be reached at [email protected]
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