Israil Madrimov believes that a move up to super middleweight to face Saul “Canelo” Alvarez would be extremely difficult for Terence Crawford.
Crawford dethroned WBA junior middleweight titleholder Madrimov to lift a world title in his fourth weight division. Crawford was heavily favored before the fight, but the contest turned out much closer than many expected, with the 36-year-old picking up a narrow win on the cards.
Many sat ringside were unsure of the winner at the end of the 12th round and Madrimov’s promoter Eddie Hearn expressed his pride in his fighter taking a pound-for-pound king to the wire. Madrimov, 29, seemed disappointed that his hand had not been raised after the contest but kept things respectful at the press conference. The now-former champion said he was happy with how he performed in just his 11th professional fight.
“I felt good, I felt really good, I felt proud of myself like Eddie [Hearn] said,” said Madrimov. “Crawford is really good, he’s pound-for-pound best, he’s one of the best in the world – he’s not an easy fight. He knocked out the last 10 opponents he fought, Spence and others.
“I didn’t feel like it was my toughest fight, there were some questions about how I won my world championship belt in my previous fight, and I think in this fight I proved why it was easy then, why I’m a champion, and why I deserve to be a champion. I feel good, I don’t have any doubts about myself.”
Before the contest and during fight week a lot of the focus was on Crawford potentially moving up to challenge super middleweight king Canelo Alvarez. Madrimov believes that the weight Crawford and Alvarez fight at will be crucial in determining the result. “I don’t know, it depends on what weight they fight in,” he said. “But if they fight in Canelo’s current weight category, then I think it will be very difficult for Crawford because he’s massive.”
Madrimov may not believe that Crawford has the size to compete with Alvarez at 168, but he acknowledged the former 135-pounder packs a zesty punch.
“There is no doubt he has power, there is no doubt he has skills, I knew that, that’s why this fight was so close,” Madrimov added. “If I won the 11th and 12th rounds maybe I could have won the fight or got the draw, but I did what I could, I followed my plan. I did a lot in the beginning of the fight as well, I tried to be aggressive, I tried to take the fight to him. I obviously exerted more energy, but maybe next time, with the experience I gained, I can do better in the future.”
Promoter Hearn confirmed to the press that Madrimov would be welcomed back on another Riyadh Season card after his performance. The Uzbek made it clear that his sights are now firmly on regaining his belt or picking up another world title.
“I want to try to take another title, it gives me a lot of motivation as well, to try to take something from somebody, I want to take it back or win another title and see how it goes.”
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