Terence Crawford says his fight against Israil Madrimov “feels bigger” than the last one against Errol Spence in 2023.
(Photo credit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)
The Undercard Outshines the Main Event
A more accurate comment would be the undercard for this Saturday, August 3rd, Riyadh Season event, which is bigger than the Spence-Crawford card, but the main event isn’t on that level.
Spence was a genuine PPV attraction, whereas Crawford was just a WBO welterweight title holder who had captured belts in the 135-lb and 140-lb weight classes but failed to gain any traction with fans due to the level of competition he’d beaten to win those belts.
Despite Crawford’s win over Spence, he’s still not a crossover star, and much of that concerns his fighting style. He’s a boxer, and fans of this era want to see fighters who entertain.
Gervonta Davis is the gold standard for entertainment. Crawford is more of a fossil from a bygone era, still using a pure boxing style that fans nowadays view as unwatchable and not worth seeing.
Terence is still using the same old play-it-safe style that he began his career with 16 years ago in 2008, and the younger fans aren’t interested in that dull approach. He hasn’t adapted to the tastes of the younger fans, who demand action and want to be entertained inside and outside the ring.
They demand value for their money, and Crawford, a relic from the past, doesn’t provide that with the newer fans. Fighters like Jaron Ennis and Tank Davis do provide value.
Crawford states that his fight with Spence was mainly bigger in the “urban community.” In contrast, his clash against WBA junior middleweight champion Madrimov on Saturday has drawn more attention from fans of “different races and cultures.”
People on social media disagree with Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs). They point out that the tickets for the Spence fight a year ago were flying off the shelf for their clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Ticket Sales and Fan Interest
That’s not happening with Crawford’s fight against Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Commentator Tim Bradley hears that tickets aren’t selling well for the Crawford-Madrimov event. Whose fault is that?
You can’t blame it on the undercard because it’s arguably the best the U.S. has seen in 30 years, dating back to the 1980s.
“I feel like he never faced a fighter like me that can do multiple things that can change up his game plan,” said Terence Crawford to DAZN Boxing, talking about his ability to give different looks to WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
“I told him, ‘Once you get comfortable, that’s when you make mistakes. That’s when I capitalize on it,’” said Crawford.
Crawford’s Crucial Audition for Canelo Fight
Hopefully, Crawford doesn’t choose to box, move, and hold a lot in this fight because fans are paying a lot of money to see this. The fight is arguably an audition for Crawford to land the mega-clash against superstar Canelo Alvarez in 2025.
Crawford must not only put on an entertaining show for the fans to give them their money’s worth, but he must also convince Canelo that he’s worth fighting.
“This feels bigger than the Errol Spence fight. The Errol Spence fight was big for the urban community because it’s something that’s been talked about for five years. When you look around, you see so many different races and cultures that it’s bigger in its own right,” said Crawford when asked to compare his fight with Madrimov to his previous one against former unified welterweight champion Spence in July 2023.
Crawford Should Have Chosen Boots Ennis
Many fans in the U.S. don’t know who Madrimov is. He chose the wrong guy to elevate his stardom after his win over Spence.
Crawford should have accepted Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’s challenge to fight him because that would have resonated with American fans. They know who he is, and that’s a matchup they want to see. Madrimov isn’t.
I’m unsure if it’s Crawford’s fear of Boots Ennis or just some twisted thing where he doesn’t want to help out a young fighter because he wasn’t given a boost early in his career.
Whatever caused Crawford to choose Madrimov over Boots hurts his career because the fans are not excited about this matchup. Again, they like the undercard, but that’s not enough to sell Saturday’s fight.
The main event is a drag on a promotion, and Turki should have insisted Crawford fight Boots. If not that, move the co-feature fight between Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz and Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela to the headliner and bury the Crawford-Madrimov match on the undercard below the Andy Ruiz vs. Jarrell Miller contest.
Turki’s Investment and Crawford’s Appeal
“I can’t go nowhere without seeing a Riyadh Season poster, a Crawford-Madrimov poster. You can’t go nowhere without seeing the fight, and that’s what makes it big,” said Crawford.
Turki and the promoters put much effort into this event to ensure its success. That doesn’t mean fans are excited about seeing Crawford, a non-PPV attraction, fight Madrimov in the main event.
Crawford needs a star as his opponent to attract fans, including fighters like Boots Ennis, Spence, and Canelo. Terence is not a big enough star for him to bring in fans fighting an unknown like Madrimov. He needed Boots or Canelo to attract fans.
Ideally, Crawford should have taken a massive risk by fighting David Benavidez or David Morrell. By putting himself in a situation where he was expected to lose, which has never happened, Crawford would have increased his star power and attracted a large audience.
Crawford is a big favorite over the little-known Madrimov for Saturday’s fight, and fans view it as a cherry-pick for him. That’s not good for ticket sales or PPV purchases.
“I just hope that Turki continues to do big shows like this in America as well as in Saudi,” said Crawford.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh can’t force Canelo to fight Crawford by offering him a lot of money because he’s already wealthy and will continue to bring in mega-millions no matter who he fights for the remainder of his career. Canelo doesn’t need Crawford to make money.
So Crawford must forget about boxing and focus on going to war with Madrimov in the center of the ring on Saturday night. That means Crawford must resist his usual tendencies to use these tactics to win:
– Moving
– Holding & wrestling
– Jabbing
– Switch-hitting
– Stepping back when attacked
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