Pound-for-pound stalwart Terence Crawford captured the WBA super welterweight championship at the expense of Uzbekistan’s Israil Madrimov, who succumbed to a 12-round unanimous decision defeat at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday. The official scores were 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113.
WATCH: Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov on ESPN+
From a technical aspect, Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) was tested more in this fight than any other since turning professional in 2008. However, the styles did not gel, there was some sporadic booing from the crowd, and clean effective punching came only in cameos.
“Israil was a tough competitor,” acknowledged Crawford during his post-fight interview with DAZN. “He’s real strong, he’s durable, and he takes a lot of good shots. He had fast feet and good rhythm upstairs. He was looking to counter me just like I was looking to counter him. He was very disciplined, and he fought a good fight.”
Almost immediately, Crawford elected to box out of the southpaw stance in round one. Madrimov looked loose and confident in the early going although feints and head movement were a lot more frequent than punches. Renowned for his patience, “Bud” used the ring and refused to be tempted into making a mistake.
Almost every round of the fight was difficult to score, though it was tempting to favor Crawford because he threw more shots. Regardless, Madrimov never looked out of his depth at any time and his stock will have risen in defeat. There were many predicting that this would be a mismatch and it was far from it.
Neither fighter was down and neither fighter was seriously hurt. Madrimov landed his best shot of the fight in round nine when he nailed the American with a whipping left hook. However, Crawford returned the favor in the penultimate round when he blasted home a terrific left uppercut that visibly stunned the champion.
The final round was the entire fight in microcosm – close and difficult to score.
The drive for a fight between Crawford and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez remains. Turki Alalshikh was banging the drum throughout the night, telling DAZN that an offer would be made to the Mexican superstar for a February date and that he should accept it. Do we see that fight? Is the risk worth the reward for Canelo, who would be putting his Hall of Fame legacy on the line against a talented but far smaller opponent?
“If the money is right, we gotta fight,” said Crawford with a smile. “He’s got a fight that he’s gotta win [against Edgar Berlanga in September] and I’m going home to my family. I want to enjoy all my accomplishments in the sport of boxing.”
If that one doesn’t happen, the other piece of history for Crawford to chase is triple undisputed. If Bud could consolidate all the belts at 154 pounds, then he would be the first three-weight undisputed champion since Henry Armstrong. With that said, “Homicide Hank” held three championships (featherweight, lightweight and welterweight) simultaneously.
Madrimov falls to 10-1-1 (7 KOs).
Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov fight card
- Terence Crawford def. Israil Madrimov for the WBA super welterweight titles (116-112, 115-113, 115-113)
- Martin Bakole def. Jared Anderson via KO 5 (2:07); Heavyweights
- David Morrell def. Radivoje Kalajdzic via UD 12 (118-110, 117-111, 117-111) for the WBA "regular" light heavyweight title
- Jose Valenzuela def. Isaac Cruz (c) for the WBA super lightweight title (116-112, 116-112, 113-115)
- Andy Cruz def. Antonio Moran via KO 7 (2:59); Lightweights
- Andy Ruiz Jr. draw Jarrell Miller (112-116, 114-114, 114-114); Heavyweights