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Raymond Muratalla vs Zaur Abdullaev: Who has the edge heading into their fight?
The vacant interim IBF lightweight world championship will be up for grabs when Raymond Muratalla clashes with Zaur Abdullaev Saturday night at Pechanga Arena San Diego as the co-feature to Emanuel Navarrete vs. Charly Suarez.
The undefeated Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) has earned this opportunity after delivering career-building wins over the likes of Jeremia Nakathila and Tevin Farmer, with his second-round TKO of Jesus Perez in November serving as his latest offering.
Meanwhile, Abdullaev (20-1, 12 KOs) is riding a nine-fight win streak since being stopped by Devin Haney in September 2019. The Russian fighter’s last win was a unanimous decision over Roger Gutierrez in February 2024. He has also dealt former champ Jorge Linares a knockout.
Will Muratalla become IBF lightweight world champion, proving he is the next in line of greats at 135 pounds? Or will Abdullaev do what he failed to against Haney and that is wrap an interim belt around his waist?
With the stakes reaching a fever pitch, DAZN News analyzes who has the edge between both fighters heading into their bout.
Boxing Styles
Watch Raymond Muratalla carefully and one will notice a penchant for keeping on the front foot, hands around chest level, while looking for the right potshot to start picking opponents apart with.
Once he splits his opponent’s guard, Muratalla tends to start piecing together combinations with speed and accuracy until his opponents wilt, or he banks enough rounds to have his hand held high by the fight’s end.
Zaur Abdullaev, on the other hand, keeps a high, tight guard with hunched, rounded shoulders, preferring to double up on his left jab when possible and punch in traffic in order to be the first to hit his marks. As he demonstrated against Gutierrez last year, Abdullaev also does an excellent job of stepping up when an opponent flicks out the jab and exploding with a cranking uppercut to shatter the guard.
That said, the slight edge goes to Muratalla here for his fluidity in fighting and moving forward while constantly creating.
Edge: Muratalla
Power
Muratalla counts 17 of his 22 victories by the way of stoppage for a knockout ratio of 77 percent.
Abdullaev has power, too, with 11 of his 20 fights ending in the Russian producing a stoppage for a knockout ratio of 55 percent.
It is just that Muratalla is more explosive with his output as five of his last seven fights have ended in a knockout for the California native.
Edge: Muratalla
Mental Warfare
Both Muratalla and Abdullaev believe it is his rightful time to become a lightweight world champion.
Muratalla has pushed his unbeaten streak to 22 straight fights, while Abdullaev has refused to taste defeat again after suffering his sole pro loss.
This category is a draw as the urgency for both men is matched.
Edge: Draw
Who has the edge in Muratalla vs Abdullaev?
It is pretty close across the board here, but it just might be Raymond Muratalla’s time. He has the sweet science style, skills and power to hoist the IBF interim lightweight world title up by the night’s end, unless Abdullaev’s rugged determination has something to say about that.
We have Muratalla with the edge here. Now, it is up to him to launch the Raymond Muratalla era as promised.
