Terence Crawford will need to be in the same form he was a year ago to have a chance of dethroning the younger, stronger, and more active WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3rd.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Madrimov’s style has become more like Gennadiy Golovkin’s in his last four fights. He’s sitting down on his shots and putting full power into them.
Crawford has never been hit by a fighter with the GGG-like power that Madrimov possesses, and it’s going to be interesting to see how he handles all the shots in their headliner clash.
Will Crawford move all night to avoid conflict? Given his extra weight, 13 months of inactivity, and age, it will be difficult for him to do that for twelve rounds without tiring.
The strength that the 29-year-old Madrimov possesses is greater than anything the 36-year-old Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) has experienced before during his 16-year professional career.
It’s not a good time for Crawford to fight someone with the power Madrimov possesses after 13 months out of the ring, moving up one weight class to 154 and needing this victory to get a shot at a colossal payday against Canelo Alvarez.
We’ve seen Crawford hurt in fights against these fighters:
– Egidijus Kavaliauskas
– Dierry Jean
– Yuriorkis Gamboa
Terence hasn’t faced many big punchers during his career. Although Crawford did fight Errol Spence, he looked physically out of it in that fight, drained from making weight.
At the weigh-in, Spence resembled Crypt Keeper and made jokes about his appearance, but it was clear that he didn’t belong at 147. His performance against Crawford that night showed that making weight had taken a lot out of him.
Crawford is going into the fight with Madrimov with a lot going against him, and he’s hoping that his past success against a handful of lesser fighters at 147, 140, and 135 will be enough for him to do the same thing at 154 against this type of athlete.
Crawford is fighting for money now and no longer loves the sport like he once did. When a fighter only fights once a year, it’s a signal that they’ve lost their love for boxing and just seen it as a way to replenish their bank accounts before going off into another extended vacation of 1+ years.
Crawford may deny that, but the proof is there. If he loved boxing, he would fight twice to thrice yearly like he used to because he would make more money. The ambition isn’t there, and that’s a bad thing for him going into a risky fight against a younger fighter with more power than anyone he’s never competed against.
𝓓𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓶 𝓑𝓲𝓰 💭👑 @IsrailMadrimov#CrawfordMadrimov | Aug 3 | #RiyadhSeasonCard pic.twitter.com/ZN4IrlgGUi
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) July 21, 2024
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