If he hadn’t done so already, Raymond Muratalla made sure to put the lightweight division on notice Saturday night.

Muratalla battered and stopped hard-hitting Oscar Torres of Mexico at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Muratalla, who resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Fontana, improved to 19-0, 16 knockouts.

What was supposed to be a highly-anticipated fight between boxer-punchers turned into a one-sided fight, where Muratalla dictated and outboxed Torres (18-1, 17 KOs) from the opening bell. Muratalla ended matters in round 7 by dropping Torres and forcing referee Celestino Ruiz to stop the fight.

The 26-year-old Muratalla is currently ranked No. 10 by The Ring and is promoted by Top Rank.

Robert Garcia trains Muratalla in Riverside, not far from Fontana. Garcia has always praised Muratalla for his work ethic and improving his skill-set.

After Saturday night, Garcia is confident Muratalla can face and defeat any fighter at 135 pounds.

“Raymond is ready for any world champion in the division,” Garcia told The Ring Monday afternoon. “He looked sensational and will fight any world champion.”

Prior to Saturday’s fight against Torres, fight fans were wondering whether a fight against unbeaten prospect Keyshawn Davis would take place in the near future. Muratalla had stated on multiple occasions that a fight with Davis would not make sense, as he believes his skill-set would be too much for Davis.

Garcia agrees.

“Keyshawn is a great fighter, but still a prospect,” said Garcia. “He needs a few more fights before he can be ready for Muratlla.”

Muratalla previously fought on May 20, knocking out Jeremia Nakathila in the second round. On March 25, Muratalla overcame a flash knockdown in the first round to twice drop Humberto Galindo before ending matters in the ninth round.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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