TV Picks of The Week: Israel Madrimov vs. Terence Crawford

Pick It: Israel Madrimov vs. Terence Crawford

When to Watch: Saturday, August 3. The free preliminary card begins at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (9:30 p.m. BST). The main broadcast begins at 6 p.m. Eastern Time (11 p.m. BST). 

How to watch: Pay-per-view available on DAZN, ESPN+ and PPV.com.

Why to Watch: One of the best boxers in the world is taking on his next challenge. After winning the undisputed welterweight championship in 2023, Terence Crawford is heading up to junior middleweight to take on Madrimov for the WBA world title.

A win would make Crawford a four-division titleholder. He won a world title (and Ring Magazine’s championship) at lightweight, was the undisputed champ at 140 and then accomplished the same recognition at 147 when he demolished Errol Spence almost exactly a year ago. 

This is the first fight back for Crawford, 40-0 (31 KOs), the fighting pride of Omaha, Nebraska. He is now 36 years old, which means that his years left in the sport may be limited, so it’s not surprising that he’s looking to make the most of his remaining time.

Madrimov vs. Crawford and the very stacked undercard that we’ll get into soon are being bankrolled by Riyadh Season, the Saudi Arabian entity whose entry into boxing is changing the sport. (This show at BMO Stadium, a soccer stadium in Los Angeles, marks Riyadh Season’s first event in the United States).

And Crawford is hoping to parlay a win over Madrimov into another potentially huge Saudi-backed opportunity — a fight with super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.

That’s another two divisions up. Before we can talk about Crawford at 168, we need to see how he looks at 154 against Madrimov.

Madrimov is a 29-year-old originally from Uzbekistan and now fighting out of Indio, California. He is 10-0-1 with 7 KOs. 

He stopped fringe contender Michel Soro in the ninth round in 2021, though it’s more appropriate to say Madrimov stopped Soro after the ninth round, pouring forth punches after the bell rang. The referee for some reason still waved the fight off. Their rematch, in July 2022, ended in a three-round technical draw due to a clash of heads. Since then, Madrimov’s picked up two more wins, including a fifth-round TKO of Magomed Kurbanov in March for the vacant WBA belt.

Will Crawford’s brilliance and experience take him to victory? Will Madrimov’s youth and size give Crawford any trouble? And what will come next? Besides the potential of Crawford vs. Canelo, there’s Sebastian Fundora, who will be watching this fight closely.

And on the undercard:

Isaac Cruz vs. Jose Valenzuela: Cruz earned acclaim for his competitive loss to an injured Gervonta Davis in late 2021, and his career has continued on an upward trajectory since. He’s won four straight fights and moved up to junior welterweight for his last one, stopping Rolando Romero to earn the WBA world title. The 26-year-old from Mexico City is now 26-2-1 (18 KOs).

Cruz’s first defense comes against Valenzuela, a 25-year-old originally from Los Mochis, Mexico, and now living in Renton, Washington. Valenzuela had suffered back-to-back setbacks, knocked out in three rounds by Edwin De Los Santos in 2022 and then on the short end of a razor-thin decision against Chris Colbert, a former 130-pound titleholder, in a lightweight bout in 2023. But Valenzuela got a rematch with Colbert and made sure it didn’t go to the scorecards, putting Colbert away in the sixth round last December. That brought Valenzuela to 13-2 (9 KOs).

Andy Ruiz vs. Jarrell Miller: This is a fight between promising but disappointing heavyweights seeking to redeem themselves and earn another shot.

Ruiz, of course, is the former unified titleholder who shocked Anthony Joshua in June 2019 and seized three world titles. But then Ruiz came in much heavier in the rematch and lost a wide decision in December 2019. He didn’t return for 17 months, outpointing Chris Arreola in May 2021. Another lengthy layoff followed: Ruiz won a decision over Luiz Ortiz in September 2022. That brought the 34-year-old from Imperial, California, to 35-2 (22 KOs). This will be Ruiz’s first appearance in nearly two years. Outside of the ring, he’s also faced accusations of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Miller, a 36-year-old from Brooklyn, is 26-1-1 (22 KOs). He famously was supposed to face Joshua on that night in June 2019, but tested positive for multiple performance enhancing drugs, which led to Ruiz stepping in and scoring the upset. Miller returned to the ring in 2022 after more than three and a half years away. “Big Baby” was even heavier than ever, ranging from 328 to 341 pounds on his 6-foot-4 frame. He picked up a few victories and then ran into Daniel Dubois last December, getting stopped in the final seconds of the final round.

Jared Anderson vs. Martin Bakole: Miller isn’t the only “Big Baby” on the card. So is Anderson, who was initially hoping to face Deontay Wilder on this show — until Wilder was knocked out by Zhilei Zhang in June.

Anderson, a 24-year-old originally from Toledo, Ohio, and now fighting out of Houston, is 17-0 (15 KOs). He’s struggled publicly with the expectations on him in boxing, as well as some legal trouble outside of the ring. Anderson’s last fight was in April, when he won a wide decision over  Ryad Merhy, who seemed content to do little beyond surviving until the final bell.

Bakole will hopefully bring more effort on Saturday. The 32-year-old is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and now lives in Scotland. He’s won nine straight since suffering a shoulder injury and a 10th-round stoppage loss to Michael Hunter back in 2018. Bakole gave gold medalist Tony Yoka his first pro loss via majority decision in 2022 and, in his last appearance, stopped Carlos Takam in four rounds last October. That brought Bakole to 20-1 (15 KOs).

David Morrell vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic: Morrell is an unbeaten fighter who, like David Benavidez, is moving up from 168 to 175 in search of additional opportunities while super middleweight champ Canelo Alvarez is choosing to face other foes. Morrell had a pair of early nights in 2023, putting away Yamaguchi Falcao in one round and Sena Agbeko in two. The 26-year-old, who hails from Cuba and now calls Minneapolis home, is 10-0 (9 KOs).

Kalajdzic is a 32-year-old originally from Serbia and now living in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is 29-2 (21 KOs). One of those losses was highly controversial, a split decision against Marcus Browne back in 2016. The other defeat came via fifth-round TKO against Artur Beterbiev in 2019. Since then, Kalajdzic has won five straight, culminating in a 10th-round knockout of Sullivan Barrera this March.

The winner of this fight receives a secondary WBA belt and ostensibly will be in line to face the winner of Beterbiev’s match with Dmitriy Bivol for the undisputed light heavyweight championship.

Andy Cruz vs. Antonio Moran: Cruz won lightweight gold in the 2020/2021 Olympics representing Cuba, defeating Keyshawn Davis in the finals. The 28-year-old has since moved to Miami, turning pro about a year ago and going 3-0 (1 KO).

Moran is a good test for Cruz at this early stage of his career, given Cruz’s talent. Moran, a 31-year-old from Mexico City, is 30-6-1 (21 KOs). His recent losses have come against familiar names: Jose Pedraza (a close decision in 2018), Devin Haney (KO7 in 2019), Arnold Barboza Jr. (UD10 in 2021) and Jamaine Ortiz (UD10 in 2023). In Moran’s last appearance, he knocked out Romero Duno in six rounds in January.

More Fights to Watch

Wednesday, July 31: Marc Castro vs. George Acosta (DAZN)

The broadcast begins with Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov’s open workouts at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, with this three-fight card set to follow.

Castro is a junior lightweight prospect from Fresno, California. The 24-year-old outpointed Abraham Montoya in April to move to 12-0 (8 KOs). 

Acosta is a 27-year-old from Whittier, California. He lost a decision to Rene Tellez Giron in February and is now 17-2 (3 KOs).

Also on this broadcast: Shakhram Giyasov vs. Miguel Parra. Giyasov won a silver medal in the 2016 Olympics at welterweight representing Uzbekistan. As a pro, he is coming off decision wins over Harold Eduardo Calderon and Pablo Cesar Cano and is now 15-0 (9 KOs). 

Parra is 22-4-1 (14 KOs). He lost two straight to Florian Marku by unanimous decision in 2022 and Anas Messaoudi by majority decision in 2023, then returned in March with points win over a foe with a 14-35 record.

And Nathan Lugo, a 1-0 (1 KO) super middleweight, will meet Ray Corona, 4-1 (0 KOs).

Wednesday, July 31: Alberto Palmetta vs. Jesus Saracho (ProBox)

The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

Palmetta is a 34-year-old welterweight originally from Buenos Aires and now fighting out of West Palm Beach, Florida. He is 19-2 (13 KOs). Palmetta lost a unanimous decision to Jamal James in February 2023 and then outpointed Janelson Bocachica last November.

Saracho is a 23-year-old born in Guanajuato, Mexico, who now lives in Auburn, Washington. He is 13-2-1 (11 KOs) and will be moving up from junior welterweight. In March, Saracho lost a split decision to Starling Castillo.

(Note: BoxingScene.com is owned by ProBox.) 

Saturday, August 3: Tyrone McKenna vs. Mohamed Mimoune 2 (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (7 p.m. BST).

McKenna and Mimoune first met in February 2020, with McKenna winning a close unanimous decision. That fight took place at junior welterweight as part of the “Golden Contract” tournament. They’ll both be welterweights when they headline this card at the SSE Arena in Belfast, performing in front of McKenna’s home crowd.

McKenna has gone 2-3 since that first meeting with Mimoune, losing to Ohara Davies by majority decision in 2020 in the tournament finale, to Regis Prograis by TKO6 in 2022, and to Lewis Crocker by a wide decision in December. The 34-year-old is 23-4-1 (6 KOs).

Mimoune is a 36-year-old from France now living in Plant City, Florida. He spent 25 months out of the ring following the loss to McKenna and has gone 1-2 since, including a decision loss to Batyrzhan Jukembayev in December. That brought Mimoune’s record to 23-6 (4 KOs).

Saturday, August 3: Zak Chelli vs. Callum Simpson (Peacock/Sky Sports)

The broadcast begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (7 p.m. BST).

This is a battle between two British super middleweights at the Oakwell Football Ground in Barnsley, England.

Chelli is a 26-year-old from London with a record of 15-2-1 (7 KOs). He lost to unbeaten Mark Jeffers by decision about 13 months ago and has won two straight since, knocking out an opponent with an astonishing record of 8-124-5 and then outpointing the 22-4-1 Jack Cullen.

Barnsley is Simpson’s hometown. The 27-year-old is 14-0 (10 KOs) and coming off a March knockout of a 34-13-1 foe named Dulla Mbabe.

The undercard includes a women’s lightweight fight between Caroline Dubois, 9-0 (5 KOs), and Maira Moneo, 14-1 (3 KOs), as well as a men’s junior middleweight fight between Stephen McKenna, 14-0 (13 KOs), and Joe Laws, 14-2 (5 KOs).

Saturday, August 3: Jordan White vs. Jason Sanchez (BXNG TV)

The broadcast begins at 6 p.m. Eastern Time

This show at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C., is headlined by a junior lightweight bout between White and Sanchez.

White, a 26-year-old from D.C., is 17-1 (12 KOs). That loss came in his fifth pro fight, a decision defeat to Adam Lopez. White has won 13 straight since and is coming off a 65-second TKO of Jonathan Oquendo.

Sanchez, a 29-year-old from Albuquerque, New Mexico, is 16-5 (9 KOs). Those five losses have come in his last seven fights, including a wide decision loss to then-featherweight titleholder Oscar Valdez in 2019, a decision loss to Christopher Diaz in 2020, a majority decision loss to the aforementioned Adam Lopez in 2021, a wide decision loss to Zelfa Barrett in April 2023, and a second-round TKO loss to Bruce Carrington last December.

Follow David Greisman on Twitter @FightingWords2. His book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.