Israil ‘The Beast’ Madrimov 10-0-1 (7) has left many fans and pundits impressed with his five-round drubbing of Magomed ‘Black Lion’ Kurbanov 25-1 (13) to claim the vacant WBA junior middleweight title at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday night.
The 29-year-old Uzbek used an educated jab to the body and head to control the action through four rounds before unleashing a barrage of power shots in the fifth round that left referee Steve Gray with little option but to wave the bout off at the 2:20 mark.
At the time of the stoppage Madrimov was leading on two of the judges’ scorecards 40-36 and 39-37, while the third judge had it even 38-38.
Madrimov got his jab working early against Kurbanov, landing 11 in the first round with 6 of them body punches according to CompuBox. Fifty-three percent of Madrimov’s landed punches were jabs and 56% of his jabs landed on Kurbanov’s body.
Madrimov threw a fight high 24 power punches in the fifth round, landing 16 and leaving Kurbanov dazed and defenceless.
Russian Kurbanov, 28, is perhaps best known outside of his native country for winning a highly dubious 12-round unanimous decision victory over Callum Smith three years ago. He followed this up with three more wins against Patrick Teixeira, Johan Gonzalez and Michel Soro, all on points. The Madrimov fight was the first for Kurbanov outside of Russia.
The lone blemish on Madrimov’s record is a third-round technical draw against Soro after an accidental clash of heads in July 2022 that came seven months after his ninth-round knockout of the Frenchman in their first bout.
The ambitious Madrimov, who resides in Indio, California, already has his sights set on more world championship belts.
“It’s a great feeling, I’ve waited a long time for this moment,” said Madrimov, who celebrated his victory with a backflip in the ring. “I wanted this title, now I am here and this belt is mine and coming to Uzbekistan.
“It’s my first title and I need four belts.”
Never one to mince words, promoter Eddie Hearn was quick to anoint Madrimov the second coming of recently retired middleweight wrecking machine Gennadiy Golovkin.
“This guy’s an animal,” said the Matchroom Boxing boss, who co-promotes Madrimov. “This guy’s the new Gennadiy Golovkin, he walked through Kurbanov with ease.
“Remember the name, Uzbek power, Ismail ‘The Dream’ Madrimov is coming for all the belts in the 154-pound division.”
The only other current titleholder at junior middleweight is WBO boss Tim Tszyu after both the WBA and WBC declared former undisputed 154-pound champion Jermell Charlo ‘champion-in-recess’. The IBF have strip him of their belt with the championship currently vacant.
Australian Tszyu, 29, is set to face former WBC and WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman in a 155-pound catchweight bout in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 30.
