Terence Crawford has done it again. The two-time undisputed champion, who was making his debut at 154 pounds on Saturday night, grabbed another belt when he defeated WBA-154 pound champion Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Crawford, who is now a four division world champion, won on one scorecard, 116-112, and two others, 115-113. This was the first time he had gone the distance since 2016, and his 11-fight stoppage streak was snapped, but most importantly, he got the win.
The 36-year-old Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) was the more active fighter on Saturday night. According to CompuBox, Crawford threw more punches(433) than Madrimov(275), but Crawford only landed one more punch (95-94) than Madrimov.
This was a close fight, but Crawford’s activity was the difference.
Picture By Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing
Crawford landed more punches than Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) in rounds 10-12 (30-25); in those championship rounds, he threw more punches(129-86).
This was another great win for Crawford against another solid opponent. Madrimov can beat many fighters at 154 pounds, and he felt he beat Crawford.
“I fought the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and I believe that I did enough because I was the champion, ” Madrimov said. I was defending the belt, I was controlling the rhythm, and I felt very comfortable inside the ring.”
Going into this fight, the thought was that Crawford would battle unified 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez next. After this fight, Crawford might be better suited to stick at 154 pounds. However, it’s hard to doubt Crawford because he has shown to be an all-time great. There are weight classes for a reason, and as great as Crawford is, he could be biting off a little more than he can chew.
“If the money’s right, we got a fight, but at the same time, he’s got a fight that he’s focused on,” Crawford said about a fight against Canelo. ‘I’m going to relax, enjoy this win.”
Crawford has some big fights at 154, including Jermell Charlo, Tim Tszyu, WBC/WBO 154-pound champion Sebastian Fundora, IBF 147-pound champion Jaron Ennis, or a rematch against Errol Spence.
Again, he has options, and one could be Canelo, but his best options are at 154.
Leave a Reply