By Ian S Palmer
Original article; https://www.sportsbetlistings.com/boxing/israil-madrimov-vs-terence-crawford-betting-odds-and-prediction/24058/
Unbeaten southpaw Terence Crawford of Omaha, Nebraska, will be attempting to conquer another weight division this Saturday, August 3rd as he moves up to challenge undefeated Israil Madrimov of Uzbekistan for the WBA and Interim WBO Junior Middleweight Belts. The fight can be seen on pay-per-view in most nations including the DAZN, ESPN and TNT platforms. Crawford defended his WBO Welterweight Belt for the seventh time in his last contest when he stopped Errol Spence Jr in the ninth round and also took Spence’s WBC, WBA and IBF Belts. Madrimov last boxed in March when he halted Magomed Kurbanov in the fifth round to capture the vacant WBA Jr. Middleweight Crown.
Madrimov is a 29-year-old who boxes out of Indio, California and makes the ring walk with a near-perfect mark of 10-0-1 with 7 Ko’s and has quite a bit of power in his arsenal as 70 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage. However three of his past five victories have gone the distance and he also had a three-round technical draw with Michael Soro in July, 2022 when Soro’s eye was cut badly from an accidental clash of heads.
Madrimov made his pro debut in 2018 and has 74 rounds of experience under his belt. He won the vacant WBA Inter-Continental Super Welterweight Title in his second pro outing with a second-round stoppage of Frank Rojas and has also beaten Vladimir Hernandez,Norberto Gonzalez, Alejandro Barrera, Charlie Navarro, Eric Walker, Emmany Kalombo and Michael Soro in their first meeting. Madrimov stands just over 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 68.5-inch reach so isn’t a big for the 154 lb division by any stretch of the imagination.
He enjoyed a fine amateur career and captured a silver medal in the welterweight division at the 2014 Asian Games and a gold medal as a middleweight at the 2018 Asian Games. He also took gold at the 2017 Asian Championships and silver at the 2011 Junior World Championships and 2013 Asian Youth Championships. Madrimov won the 2013 and 2016 Uzbekistan National Championships and took silver in 2014 and also competed in the World Series of Boxing as an amateur.
The 36-year-old Crawford enters the fight as a three-division world champ with a perfect record of 40-0 with 31 Ko’s. The former lightweight, super lightweight and welterweight champion possesses excellent foot and hand speed and fine power with a current knockout ratio of 77.5 per cent and has stopped his last 11 opponents. He’s an accurate puncher who often changes fluidly from the orthodox to southpaw stance and owns a solid chin, but sometimes gets off to a slow start.
Basically, Crawford is the total package and is considered as one boxing brightest stars and pound-for-pound fighters. He’s actually half-an-inch shorter than Madrimov though at 5-feet-8-inches tall but his 74-inch reach gives him a 5.5-inch edge over the champion in that department. Crawford has boxed 233 rounds as a pro since making his debut in 2008 following an excellent amateur career. He also owns wins over the likes of Shawn Porter, Amir Khan, Jose Benavidez, Jeff Horn, Thomas Dulorme, Raymundo Beltran, Dierry Jean, Hank Lundy, Breidis Prescott, Kell Brook, Ricky Burns, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Viktor Postol, John Molina Jr., Felix Diaz and Julius Indongo.
Crawford beat Burns by unanimous decision in 2014 for the WBO Lightweight Title and defended it twice. He beat Dulorme by sixth-round stoppage for the vacant WBO Jr. Welterweight title in April, 2015 and defended it five times. Crawford also defended the WBC Jr. Welterweight crown three times after winning it from Postol by unanimous decision in July, 2016. He then became the undisputed champion of the division with 2017’s third-round knockout over Indongo as he added the WBA and IBF belts to his collection. He then moved up in weight and captured the WBO Welterweight Crown in June, 2018 by halting Jeff Horn in the ninth round and defended it seven times.
Prediction…
Crawford is still one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world at the age of 36 but it’s hard to say if he’s still in his prime. He hasn’t fought for a year and is trying out a new weight division for the first time against a hard puncher. Crawford is riding an 11-fight knockout streak of his own though and has the better overall boxing skills. This fight will basically be won by Crawford as long as he can still display a solid chin. I believe Crawford is the more explosive puncher here while Madrimov is a bit more methodical. I think the only way Madrimov wins this contest is by stoppage or by dropping and hurting Crawford to win rounds. It’s possible that he succeeds in his mission but I think Crawford’s own power, speed and skills will see him earn a belt in a fourth weight division.
