In a fight that resembled a high-level chess match, the pound-for-pound king Terence “Bud” Crawford made a successful debut at 154. He defeated Israil Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) by unanimous decision and won the WBA junior-middleweight world title.
As Riyadh Season hit U.S. soil at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, most of the undercard bouts were action-packed fights. However, the headliner between Crawford and Madrimov was more of a strategic battle.
Fighting out of the southpaw stance, Crawford started the bout by working the jab. As the opening round closed, Madrimov landed a right hand, and Crawford responded by landing a two-punch combination.
Madrimov utilized many upper body movements and foot feints, landing consecutive lead right-hand shots in the second round. Crawford closed out the second with a two-punch combination.
In the third round of the moderately paced bout, Madrimov landed a solid right hand, and Crawford answered with a short uppercut. Crawford picked up the pace in the sixth, connecting with some solid body shots and some nice combinations.
In the eighth round, as Crawford attempted to press forward, Madrimov hit him with a straight right hand. The ninth round was probably Madrimov’s best round of the fight because he consistently landed the straight right and left hook in it.
Crawford started the 10th by connecting with an uppercut, but as the round progressed, Madrimov was able to find a home for his backhand once again. In the eleventh round, when Madrimov overcommitted, Crawford hit him with a sharp uppercut.
In the final round of the championship bout, Crawford started with a flurry of shots and then connected with two consecutive uppercuts later in the round. After the championship bout, Crawford won by scores of 116-112, 115-113, and 115-113.
With the unanimous decision victory, Terence “Bud” Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) won a world title in a fourth division. Now that the event is over, Crawford has time to rest and make an important decision regarding his next career move.
Crawford has aspirations of moving up to 168 to challenge the undisputed super-middleweight champion, Canelo Alvarez, but greatness has a limit in regards to moving up, and for Crawford to go up two additional weight classes, it could end up being a bit too much.
The best move for the two-time undisputed world champion and new WBA junior-middleweight champion is to make his new division his new home. Crawford just won the WBA belt, and it could be a monumental achievement if he can collect the other belts and go undisputed in a third-weight class.
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