A fight is in the works between Terence Crawford and WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3rd in what would be His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s first card in the U.S.
The 29-year-old Madrimov (10-0, 7 KOs) is a huge puncher, and it would be a very, very risky fight for Crawford, who hasn’t competed at 154.
Having seen Crawford look very uncomfortable taking headshots from David Avanesyan and Kell Brook, he may be biting off more than he can chew against Madrimov, who possesses major power in both hands.
The Golovkin Upgrade
Madrimov is viewed by some as the 154-lb division’s version of Gennadiy Golovkin, as he possesses the same type of power and stalking style but with arguably better boxing skills. He’s like a better version of GGG, and that ain’t good for Crawford, who is long in the tooth now and seemingly his career like a part-time job, only rarely competing.
Crawford has never fought anyone with the kind of one-punch power that the Ukzbekh Madrimov possesses, and he hasn’t been that active in the last four years, fighting on an annual basis.
We could see Crawford suffer his first career loss against Madrimov if he can’t handle the power, and that would obviously his fantasy vision of one day being picked out by Canelo Alvarez for a mega-fight.
A Low-Key, Last-Ditch Effort
According to Boxing Scene, the Crawford vs. Madrimov fight is being planned for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 3rd. Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) will attempt to capture his fourth division world title in a low-key affair.
Crawford, who turns 37 in September, had hoped to fight the winner of last March’s clash between WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora. However, Fundora beating Tszyu and being out with an injury forces Crawford to look in another direction to keep busy.
Even when Fundora does come back from his injury, he could defend his newly won WBO 154-lb title against Errol Spence Jr, as that fight is believed to be a bigger money option than a match involving Crawford. If Fundora doesn’t fight Spence, he’ll face Tszyu in a rematch. Either way, Crawford ain’t getting the fight with Fundora anytime soon.
Yesterday, His Excellency Alalshikh made a post on social media, showing a picture of Crawford with an emoji, showing a glove, making it clear that he’s interested in the inactive fighter. Crawford replied back with his own emoji, showing that he’s up for the idea of fighting for him.