Trainer Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis believes that WBA junior middleweight champion Terence Crawford would stop IBF champ Bakhram Murtazaliev if the two met for a unification fight. Bozy feels that Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) has too much technical ability for Murtzaliev (23-0, 17 KOs).
Bozy feels that Crawford’s ability to punch and move would lead him to victory over the powerful Murtazaliev, who looked devasting in his recent victory over Tim Tszyu.
Many fans feel that Crawford lacks the power and youth to defeat Murtazaliev. The 37-year-old Crawford looked old and weak in his recent debut at 154 on August 3rd. Crawford took a shellacking against Israil Madrimov, and looked all of his age and then some.
If Madrimov was more popular, he would have gotten the decision because he hit Crawford with the better shots in every round of the fight. The judges scored the fight like an amateur affair rather than a professional bout.
Father Time Knocking On Crawford’s Door
You could tell from watching his fight against Isrial Madrimov that Father Time is knocking on Crawford’s door. If he sticks around to take on a young killer like Murtazaliev, he could be sorry for it later.
It wouldn’t be a big deal for Crawford to risk his neck against Murtazaliev if he wasn’t still hoping that the tooth fairy would deliver the Canelo Alvarez fight to him.
Crawford is saving himself for that dream fight, and he’s not expected to take any risky fights against someone like Murtazaliev and have him mess things up.
“Terence is a way different fighter than Tim Tszyu. More strategic and more technical. I think Terence would stop him in the tenth or eleventh round. He would have to beat him up and work on him. The same as he did against Postol,” said coach Greg Hackett to YSM Sports Media when asked about his thoughts on a fight between Terence Crawford and Bakhram Murtazaliev. “He would have to work on him.”
Hackett, using Crawford’s win over Viktor Postol in July 2016 for why he’ll defeat Murtazaliev is a poor example. Crawford was 28 when he fought Postol and was fighting at 140 against a weaker fighter. He’s fighting at 154 now, older, slower, and would be facing a much bigger and stronger fighter than the slender Postol.
Hackett is right about Crawford being different than former WBO junior middleweight champion Tszyu. He’s less powerful than Tszyu, older and less ambitious. The shots that Bakhram Murtazaliev dropped Tszyu with would have done the same to Crawford, and likely a lot sooner because he’s never been hit like that in his career.
For Crawford to have any chance of beating Murtazaliev, he would need to get in the trenches against him and take some massive shots in the 12 rounds for him to win a decision. I don’t think Crawford could handle six rounds of getting hit by Murtazaliev without doing down for the count or needing to be pulled out by his long-time trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre.
Bozy Predicting Crawford Knockout
“I think that would be a good fight for Terence, and I would put my money on Terence,” said trainer Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis to YSM Sports Media, predicting a win for Terence Crawford over IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev if they were to fight.
“I think Terence would handle that guy. I know he’d beat him. Terence’s style. He can box, he can punch and he can move. Remember, Tim Tszyu was right in front of him, walking right to him. Terence isn’t going to be walking like that.”
The Omaha, Nebraska native Crawford showed in his debut at 154 against Israil Madrimov on August 3rd that he’s not the same fighter in this weight class as he was in the past. Everything is different now for Crawford, who is a junior middleweight, against these young killers. He doesn’t possess the power in his punches in this weight class as he had in the other three divisions, and he’s gotten old.
Crawford looked like a 40-year-old against Madrimov, eating right hands like they were candy. He didn’t get out of the way one right hand in that fight and looked like he’d been run over by a train at the end of the fight. Crawford’s face was swollen and marked up.
“Terence is going to be moving his head, using his jab, using different angles, and setting him up. Terence would have a chance to stop him. I’ll bet on it going the distance. Terence would break him down. Terence is real smart,” said Bozy.
Bozy is basing his views on Crawford for his wins over the fighters he beat many years ago at 147, 140, and 135. That was long ago against weaker, smaller, and less talented fighters than Murtazaliev. Moreover, the 37-year-old Crawford isn’t a spring chicken at this late stage of his 16-year career. He’s further hurt his game by fighting only once a year for the last four years since 2020, and that has a lot to do with the money he’s made.
Crawford was getting hit a lot by right hands in his fight against Israil Madrimov, and it didn’t matter that he was moving his head. He was eating right hands the entire fight, and was quite fortunate to get the decision. If Madrimov had been busier and possessed the same powerful left hook that Bakhram has in his arsenal, he’d have beaten Crawford.
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