Terence Crawford is training for speed in preparing for his title challenge to WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3rd.
Hand speed might not be enough for Crawford to win against the younger, bigger, stronger Madrimov. Most agree that Crawford cannot win if he stands and fights this young GGG, Madrimov. He’s not young enough or built to stand in the trenches and slingshots back and forth with a puncher like Madrimov.
Crawford’s speed would be an asset if he could move for twelve rounds without getting tired, but that would be impossible at his age. He turns 37 in September and hasn’t shown the ability to move for twelve rounds since his fight against Felix Diaz in 2017.
It’s believed that Crawford will use a hit-and-run style and try and win a 12-round decision because it would be foolhardy to try and chop down Madrimov the way he did his last two opponents, Errol Spence Jr. and David Avanesyan.
Those two were in their mid-30s, their prime years long gone, and they had little hope of winning against a top-notch fighter like Crawford. Although the Nebraska native didn’t look young either in those two fights, taking a lot of headshots, he eventually knocked them out.
The aggressive power-punching approach that Crawford utilized against the car crash-ruined, drained shell of Spence would be a foolishly insane approach to use against the 29-year-old Madrimov, who is like a younger version of GGG, but with his tremendous power but with mobility.
The unbeaten Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) is the betting favorite but with no experience at 154. You must dismiss the oddsmakers’ view for this fight because their pick is based on how Crawford looked at welterweight against marginal opposition and medical fighters he fought at 140. For example, these are the guys Crawford fought at 140 before moving up to 147:
– Viktor Postol
– Julius Indongo
– Hank Lundy
– Dierry Jean
If you know anything about boxing, you’d realize those tomato cans were not elite-level. Crawford fought the same type of opposition in his eight fights at 147 leading up to his title challenge against Madrimov on August 3rd.
I’m saying that Crawford isn’t what the naive fans and oddsmakers think he is. He’s a fighter that Top Rank’s matchmakers created just like they did with Edgar Berlanga, and fans who lack critical thinking ability have bought into it.
“I think Crawford is a smaller opponent, but you can’t criticize his skills. His skills, his speed, it’s unbelievable,” said former unified heavyweight Champion’ Andy Ruiz Jr. to the media on Wednesday when asked about his thoughts on Terence Crawford potentially challenging Canelo Alvarez for his undisputed super middleweight championship in 2025.
“I think that would be a good payday for Crawford, and he deserves it from all the stuff that he’s been through, especially from different promoters and all that. It’s his time to shine,” said Ruiz about the potential giant financial windfall Crawford would get if he faced Canelo.
👀 Terence Crawford luce rápido y explosivo
(Y disputará los Mundiales 👑👑 WBA&WBO del peso superwélter contra Israil Madrimov el 3 de agosto en Los Angeles) #ESPNKnockOut #CrawfordMadrimov pic.twitter.com/2DRtytiuMo
— ESPN KnockOut (@ESPNKnockOut) July 16, 2024
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