Terence Crawford Wins 4th Division Title In UD Over Madrimov

Terence “Bud” Crawford of Omaha (41-0, 31 KOs) is now a four-division world champion after his first fight in the super welterweight division. Crawford defeated Israil Madrimov of Uzbekistan (10-1-1, 7 KOs) by unanimous decision, handing him his first pro loss and taking the Uzbek's World Boxing Association title.

The scores were close, with Crawford winning 116-112, 115-113, and 115-113.

Israil Madrimov kept up the pressure on Terence Crawford. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing

Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn, who co-promotes Madrimov, didn't like losing by such a thin margin.

“It’s not a 116-112 fight. He’s coming into the fight as a champion, but because he’s fighting Terence Crawford, he doesn’t get a fair shake.

I believe when you come into the ring as champion, you have to take the belt off the champion. Terence Crawford didn’t do that. You hear the cards, and it’s a ‘why bother’ sort of thing. As champion, (Madrimov) deserved more respect on those scorecards. It feels like a waste of time losing 116-112 on the scorecard,” said Hearn.

Terence Crawford Takes a Patient Approach

Terence Crawford worked patiently in the first half of his fight with Israil Madrimov. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing

It was not the cakewalk many people predicted, and it wasn’t anything like Crawford’s last fight, the demolition of Errol Spence, Jr. Before the fight, Crawford called his opponent the best in the 154-pound division, and he meant it.

After the fight, Crawford called Madrimov “a tough competitor. I knew all l about him when I went to Uzbekistan. He’s strong. He’s durable. He took a lot of good shots. He got to round 12,” something none of Crawford’s opponents had accomplished in eight years. (Viktor Postol took Crawford the distance in July 2016).

The fight required patience from both men. They had to stay disciplined and not rush in and risk getting into a firefight. Several rounds passed before much offensive action took place. Crawford started in a southpaw stance and stayed there for the duration of the fight to take Madrimov’s left hand away.

Israil Madrimov was efficient and accurate with his punches. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing

No matter. Madrimov had success with straight right hands and hooks that snapped Crawford’s head. Madrimov has superior footwork and twitchy food feints, along with a herky jerky style of body movement. Opponents can’t pick up any kind of rhythm and he becomes a hard target to find.

Crawford didn’t panic, and his corner reminded him to stay the course. Crawford picks up the pace in the second half of his fights, and he was true to this pattern. He finally found success landing body shots and uppercuts starting in round seven and increased his work rate.

Terence Crawford turned up the heat in the final rounds against Israil Madrimov to secure his win. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing

Fans finally had some action to cheer and wondered if they’d see a swift finish like in Crawford’s fight against Shawn Porter. It was a very close fight until Crawford was told he was behind and scored a tenth-round stoppage win.

Crawford tried his best, but Madrimov was not taking a lot of punishment even though his face showed damage from repeated jabs. Trainer Joel Diaz warned Madrimov that Crawford would try to knock him out in the last round, and he did but couldn’t make it happen.

But Crawford was successful winning the majority of the last four rounds on the judges' scorecards.

Crawford landed 95 of 433 punches thrown (21.9%), against 84 of 275 punches thrown for Madrimov (30.5%).

“Everybody knew coming into the fight, he had fast feet, rhythm upstairs, and he was strong,” pointed out Crawford. “He was waiting to counter me, like I was waiting to counter him. He was disciplined, he fought a good fight.”

Israil Madrimov: “I was controlling everything”

Israil Madrimov said after the fight he was proud of himself. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing

“I felt that I was pretty much controlling everything,” said Madrimov. “I made maybe a couple of mistakes, but I was mostly controlling how the fight was going. I didn't feel like I was in danger, or moments I was losing.

“I felt proud of myself,” added Madrimov. He knocked out his last ten opponents. I didn't feel it was my toughest fight. I just proved why I deserve to be a champion. I don't have any doubt about myself.”

Madrimov said he’d like a rematch if Saudi General Entertainment Minister Turki Alalshiehk is interested. As for Crawford, questions inevitably turned to a possible fight with Canelo Alvarez.

But it wasn’t the kind of fight that makes fans clamor for more of the same, and certainly not a preview of any potential fight between Crawford and unified super middleweight champion Alvarez.

Who's Next for Terence Crawford?

Terence Crawford now holds the WBA World Super Welterweight title and Interim WBO Super Welterweight Title. Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing
Terence Crawford wins

Crawford brushed off the suggestion, saying, “You know what I say. If the money’s right, we got a fight. At the same time, he’s got a fight he’s focused on,” a September bout against Edgar Berlanga. He added, “It’s not so important to me. It’s another milestone to greatness, I suppose.”

When asked about the potential of a rematch with Errol Spence, Jr., Crawford shut down the question, making it clear that the ship had sailed.

While Crawford said he felt fine performing at 154 pounds, he didn’t look like he is anything close to being ready for the best super middleweight in the world in a division 14 pounds heavier. The opponent Eddie Hearn and Alalshiehk seem most interested in pursuing is Vergil Ortiz Jr., who faces Serhii Bohachuk next Saturday in Las Vegas for Bohachuk’s WBC interim title.