(December 2nd) Matchroom Boxing return to Fontainebleau Las Vegas once again, with the IBF World Lightweight crown on the line featuring defending champion Raymond Muratalla taking on Andy Cruz in a blockbuster Las Vegas showdown on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. The highly anticipated clash takes places at BleauLive Theater at the Strip’s newest, luxury resort, and is live worldwide on DAZN.

Muratalla (23-0 17 KOs) makes the first defense of his world title having been elevated to full champion following the retirement of Ukrainian legend Vasiliy Lomachenko. The 28-year-old, who turns 29 a week before the fight, became interim ruler with a comprehensive win over Zaur Abdullaev in San Diego in May, and ‘Danger’ will look to celebrate his birthday in style in his first title defense at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

Cuban sensation Cruz (6-0 3 KOs) is aiming to become a World champion in just his seventh pro fight. Cruz punched his ticket to a world title shot with a win over Hironori Mishiro in New York in June of this year, dispatching the Japanese inside five intense rounds at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. The 2020 Olympic gold medalist and three-time World amateur champion now looks to secure his first world title crown on the Strip.

"I’m excited to make my first title defense against a worthy contender in Andy Cruz,” said Muratalla. “I know the fans are excited for this fight, and I’m coming to Las Vegas to prove I’m the class of the lightweight division. Thank you to Top Rank, Matchroom, and DAZN for making this fight happen. This is what boxing needs — more great fights — and I’m happy to be a part of it."

“This is the moment I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid,” said Cruz. “Raymond Muratalla is a great fighter, but I believe I’m on another level. I’ve sacrificed everything to get here, and that’s why I came to the United States to make history. On fight night, the world will see the real Andy Cruz and why I’m ready to become a World Champion.”

“This is a sensational fight to start 2026 with,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “Raymond is a fantastic fighter and a worthy World champion, but I believe he’s coming up against a man that is going to be very difficult to beat not just on January 24, but beyond for many a year. Andy has shown so far that he has every tool in the box to convert his stunning amateur success into a lengthy reign at the elite level in the paid ranks, and we will get to see if I’m right in a brilliant fight at the stunning Fontainebleau Las Vegas, with a great supporting card to be announced soon.”

Tickets go on-sale online tomorrow Wednesday, December 3rd at 10 a.m. PT, with exclusive pre-sale available now just (click here).

About DAZN Group

DAZN Group is one of the fastest growing sports media companies in the world. Headquartered in the UK and with employees in over 25 countries, our businesses touch every aspect of the way fans engage with sports; from production, through to content distribution and commercialization. DAZN Group is home to DAZN, the leading global sport destination, as well as the popular sport portal, DAZN News. DAZN is leading the charge to give sports fans around the world access to sport anytime, anywhere. DAZN guarantees affordable access on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles. DAZN is now live in more than 200 countries and territories after first launching in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan in 2016.

DAZN is a leading digital sports platform in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Canada, US and the UK.  Its wide range of exclusive content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions – Bundesliga, English Premier League, J.League, LaLiga, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, in addition to the biggest sports from around the world - Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP and the UFC.  

DAZN is the NFL’s global partner and, from the 2023 season, will be the only place for fans around the world to watch every NFL match. DAZN is a global home for boxing and combat sports through its partnerships with Matchroom Boxing the Professional Fighters League. With the most authentic voice in the sport, DAZN is the only brand that can reach across all markets and audiences cohesively in boxing, unlike any other broadcaster. DAZN is also a global home for Women’s Football with UEFA Women’s Champions League and Finetwork Liga F.  DAZN is adding more and more sport to its platform to create a destination for sports fans.  

DAZN is reimagining the way people enjoy sport. With a single, frictionless platform, sports fans can watch, bet, play, share, socialise, and buy tickets, NFTs and merchandise. Live and on-demand sports content, anywhere, in any language, on any device – only on DAZN.  

DAZN is a global, privately-owned company with employees in over 25 countries.

DAZN is available on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles, ensuring that fans have access to ground-breaking rights catalogue and slate of incredible content. In the UK and globally, DAZN can be accessed on Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic Smart TVs and on Games Consoles including Playstation and Xbox. Subscribers also have access to DAZN on their Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast and Apple TV and find the app on their iPhone, iPad, android and mobile.  

About Matchroom Boxing

After the success of snooker in the 1980s, Matchroom Sport moved into boxing with two small hall shows followed by Frank Bruno v Joe Bugner at Tottenham Hotspur’s ground – the biggest boxing event of 1987. That launched the company into the boxing big-time, a position it has maintained ever since.

Through the 1990s Matchroom Sport’s boxing roster featured many of the biggest names in the sport including Lennox Lewis, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Steve Collins and Naseem Hamed, all in world title fights and it continues to work with some of the biggest names in UK boxing including Audley Harrison, the 2000 Olympic Super-Heavyweight gold medalist.

Over the years, Matchroom Sport has built up long-standing relationships with broadcasters around the world and with the advent of the Prizefighter phenomenon, the company’s boxing division has never been in a stronger position.

From fantastic six round scraps between the sport’s journeymen, up to multi-million-dollar World Championship contests featuring the above fighters, the Pro Box series has it all. Each show is packed with the very best in boxing action in a series that encompasses almost 25 years of Matchroom Sport’s commitment to bringing the highest quality to the global television market.