Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 41-0 (31) dethroned WBA junior middleweight champion Israil ‘The Dream’ Madrimov 10-1-1 (7) at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California, but he didn’t have it all his own way.
Omaha, Nebraska southpaw Crawford, 36, was making an ambitious bid to win a version of the world title in his fourth straight weight class after previously claiming the WBO strap at lightweight before becoming the undisputed championship at junior welterweight and welterweight.
But Uzbek Madrimov, 29, was not going to surrender easily.
Crawford typically starts his fights slow, downloading information on his opponent before he starts switching up gear by the fourth round.
In this contest, he was still guessing at the halfway point of the bout.
The fight continued to be a closely contested battle down the stretch. Many of the tricks Crawford used at the lighter weights to great effect didn’t fly with Madrimov, who boxed more than 300 fights in the amateurs.
When the final bell rang it was hard to split the pair after so many close rounds. But the judges settled on Crawford by scores of 116-112 and 115-113 twice.
“Israil was a tough competitor,” said Crawford if his post-fight interview.
“He’s real strong, durable, he took me 12. He had fast feet, good rhythm upstairs and he was strong. He had good discipline like me.”
Madrimov proved his quality in the bout and said he thought they should run it back.
“I fought the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and I think I did enough (to win) because I was the champion,” said Madrimov.
“At least, I deserve a rematch. I was holding myself back a lot too. I felt each round was competitive, that I held my own in each round. I can push harder in a rematch.”
According to CompuBox, there were four punches or fewer landed in all but one of the rounds.
Crawford threw 158 more punches than Madrimov, but that only translated into 11 more punches landed. Crawford landed 21 more jabs than Madrimov, while Madrimov landed 10 more power punches. Crawford landed more punches than Madrimov in seven of the 12 rounds.
Crawford thought the extra weight would benefit him in the fight, and perhaps it did. But he didn’t have an easy time of it against a naturally bigger opponent.
“I’m going to be stronger at 154 pounds and be more energised,” he said before the fight.
“It’s going to be less stress on my body with the weight and I’m going to be ready. I’m good right now and I expect to win however it comes if it’s a knockout, a decision I expect to win.”
There has been persistent talk of Crawford moving up to 168-pounds to challenge super middleweight king Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 61-2-2 (39).
The closeness of the Madrimov fight might give pause for thought.
