Los Angeles will host a boxing match that is sure to become one of the most talked about events of the year. Undefeated boxing royalty Terence Crawford will face Israil Madrimov for the WBA Super-welterweight title. Here is our Crawford vs Madrimov prediction.
Crawford vs Madrimov Prediction: New Weight Class for the Legendary Champion
Terence Crawford Preview
Terence “Bud” Crawford is an American boxer whose status in the professional arena is hard to overestimate. With a record of 40 wins and 0 losses, Crawford has incredible experience and versatile skills, which makes him one of the greatest athletes of the modern era.
His achievements include the undisputed status at light welterweight and welterweight and the 31 knockouts speak for themselves. Now, moving up in weight again, Crawford will try to use his advantages to compensate for his opponent’s potential physical superiority.
Crawford’s main strengths include a great sense of distance and the ability to adapt to every opponent’s style. Crawford is known for his ability to take the initiative and counter, making him extremely dangerous at close to mid-range.
His mental toughness and experience against top opponents will also be key. Crawford’s weakness in this fight is his age and new weight class, which may affect his speed and stamina to an extent.
Bookmakers still see him as the undisputed betting favorite but before we can give our Crawford vs Madrimov prediction, we have to take a closer look at the defending champion.
Israil Madrimov Preview
Israil Madrimov, on the other hand, is a highly ambitious and aggressive fighter who is looking to prove his worth in a new division. With a record of 10 wins and 1 draw, Madrimov is the current WBA champion and looks like one of the most promising fighters in the super welterweight division.
In his last fight against Magomed Kurbanov, he demonstrated excellent striking power and confidence, which earned him an early victory in the fifth round and the WBA championship. This will be his first defense and judging by the gap in experience, it feels like an almost unrealistic challenge.
Madrimov is known for his aggressive style and good timing. He is also willing to take punches from his opponents and then land powerful counter-punches in return. This could be a problem against a knockout artist like ‘Bud’.
Madrimov’s physical condition and power may be impressive but he will face an opponent whose experience and skills may prove too much of a test. One of Madrimov’s main problems is his lack of experience against boxers of Crawford’s caliber.
Our Terence Crawford vs Israil Madrimov Prediction:
Crawford is the clear favorite in this fight, and this is confirmed by his odds of 1.12. Israil Madrimov, despite his youth and aggressive style, may face serious problems due to Crawford’s experience and versatility.
Early in the fight, we can expect Madrimov to actively try to break through to Crawford, using his speed and punching power. However, Crawford, with his excellent boxing IQ and ability to adapt, will most likely give him space, baiting Madrimov into making mistakes.
After the first half of the fight, as Crawford adapts to his opponent’s style, he will begin to find weak spots in Madrimov’s defense. It is expected that Crawford will be able to use his advantages in experience and technical skill to gradually gain the upper hand in the fight.
What is especially important is that Crawford usually starts to show his best qualities after the first few rounds. He is much more intelligent than he is powerful and this is the scariest part.
In the end, we have to pick the knockout for our final Crawford vs Madrimov prediction. But we also expect it to happen around rounds 10-11, so you can bet on the over/under market with confidence too.
