Promoter Eddie Hearn says Israil Madrimov is “ice cold” ahead of tonight’s fight against Terence Crawford on DAZN PPV.
Hearn states that WBA junior middleweight champion Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) is ready to send Crawford down to his first career defeat, then move on towards a unification fight against the other belt holders at 154.
Unlike Crawford, Madrimov isn’t greedy and won’t look to move up to 168 to fight Canelo Alvarez. He’s content to stay at junior middleweight and face the other champions to collect the belts.
Crawford’s Canelo Aspirations May Survive Defeat
Crawford will likely still get the Canelo fight, even after losing tonight. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh is partial to Crawford and wants to see him fight Canelo, but it may not matter if he backs into the match after a defeat.
At Friday’s weigh-in, you could see how powerful Madrimov looked compared to Crawford. His physique had Artur Beterbiev-type muscles, and he could be a nightmare for Crawford if he lands on him often enough.
Madrimov’s last opponent, Magomed Kurbanov had more power than Crawford, and he was stopped in five rounds. That was an impressive performance from Madrimov.
“He looks great. He looks like me with my pants on,” said Eddie Hearn to Fighthype when asked how Terence Crawford looks at 154 for his fight against Israil Madrimov. “It’s going to be a great fight.
“Madrimov is a tank, he’s a machine, and he’s ready. We have a big challenge, but we’re ready. Madrimov is ice cold. He’s not nervous in the slightest. No fear or nothing, but he’s up against a pound-for-pound great.”
Tonight, Madrimov could be 175 lbs by the time he enters the ring, and that’s a lot of weight that Crawford will be dealing with. He’s never fought anyone with that kind of size or power before, and he might not be ready.
“We’re happy to stay at 154. Fight [Vergil] Ortiz, fight Tim Tszyu, or fight the other champions, but we got a big job to do,” said Hearn when asked if Madrimov would like to move up to 168 to fight Canelo Alvarez if he’s victorious against Crawford.
It’s better that Madrimov not attempt to go up to 168 because there are weight classes for a reason, and there’s no point in him going up unless the Mexican star invites him.
If Canelo wants to fight Madrimov next, he can invite him, and he’ll likely oblige him. But the worst thing Madrimov could do is start begging or campaigning for the fight against Alvarez, which some boxing fans believe Crawford has shamelessly been doing.
“Bud may conserve some of that energy that might work against him against this young, hungry fighter in front of him,” said Shawn Porter to DAZN Boxing about Crawford potentially having problems if he conserves his strength against Madrimov.
Madrimov’s Physical Superiority Evident
Crawford will likely box Madrimov, holding and keeping the action on the outside all night to keep from getting taken out.
“Madrimov looks strong,” said Ade Oladipo.
“You could tell his body has muscle,” said Porter about Madrimov.
“You could tell from their size, Madrimov is the bigger fighter, and the fuller fighter,” said Sergio Mora.
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