Promoter Eddie Hearn says he doesn’t think Terence Crawford will give former WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov a rematch after winning a harder-than-expected questionable 12-round unanimous decision last Saturday night at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
(Credit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)
Crawford’s Toughest Fight
As Hearn had predicted, Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) had the toughest fight of his career against Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) and out-punched, marked up, and made to look all of 36.
Hearn feels the judges saved Crawford from suffering his first career defeat and running his chances of getting the Canelo Alvarez fight that he’s been pining away for.
It’s unclear who Crawford will fight next if he doesn’t get the fight against Canelo, which it doesn’t appear he will. Hearn wants Crawford to face Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, but he doesn’t believe he’ll entertain that fight either.
Whatever belief Crawford had in his ability to beat Boots Ennis, they’ve evaporated after the punishment he took against Madrimov, and he’s not going to want to fight the young talent to risk losing out on the Canelo payday.
Madrimov: The Best at 154?
“I don’t think they’ll want to take the rematch,” Eddie Hearn told the media when asked if there would be a rematch between Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov. What Israil proved is that he’s the best 154-pounder in the world.”
Many fans agree with Hearn’s comment that Madrimov proved he’s the best fighter in the world at 154. Crawford’s win only proved that he was the best of the three assigned judges, but not with the fans. They overwhelmingly saw Madrimov as the winner.
“I thought he edged the fight. It was a close fight,” Hearn continued about his belief that Madrimov deserved the victory. “I was disappointed that we didn’t get a split or a little bit more respect on the scorecards, but that was his 11th fight. It was amazing, really, to go and fight Crawford and give him that kind of a fight.”
Hearn should have impressed upon Madrimov the need to get a knockout in the fight because it’s impossible for fighters to beat popular stars, especially when they have a mega-fight looming just over the horizon as Crawford does against Canelo.
Madrimov’s Stock Rises
“Eventually,” said Hearn when asked if a Crawford-Madrimov rematch would make sense. “Israil has got to come back now, be in some big fights, get some good wins, and hopefully, people will want to see that rematch,” said Hearn.
Despite Madrimov losing, his status has increased in the boxing world, and he shouldn’t have any problems getting a shot against the winner of Saturday’s clash between Serhii Bohachuk and Vergil Ortiz Jr.
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