Terence Crawford will must be in the identical type he was a yr in the past to have an opportunity of dethroning the youthful, stronger, and extra lively WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August third.
(Credit score: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Madrimov’s model has develop into extra like Gennadiy Golovkin’s in his final 4 fights. He’s sitting down on his pictures and placing full energy into them.
Crawford has by no means been hit by a fighter with the GGG-like energy that Madrimov possesses, and it’s going to be fascinating to see how he handles all of the pictures of their headliner conflict.
Will Crawford transfer all evening to keep away from battle? Given his further weight, 13 months of inactivity, and age, it will likely be troublesome for him to try this for twelve rounds with out tiring.
The energy that the 29-year-old Madrimov possesses is bigger than something the 36-year-old Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) has skilled earlier than throughout his 16-year skilled profession.
It’s not an excellent time for Crawford to battle somebody with the facility Madrimov possesses after 13 months out of the ring, shifting up one weight class to 154 and needing this victory to get a shot at a colossal payday in opposition to Canelo Alvarez.
We’ve seen Crawford damage in fights in opposition to these fighters:
– Egidijus Kavaliauskas
– Dierry Jean
– Yuriorkis Gamboa
Terence hasn’t confronted many massive punchers throughout his profession. Though Crawford did battle Errol Spence, he regarded bodily out of it in that battle, drained from making weight.
On the weigh-in, Spence resembled Crypt Keeper and made jokes about his look, however it was clear that he didn’t belong at 147. His efficiency in opposition to Crawford that evening confirmed that making weight had taken loads out of him.
Crawford goes into the battle with Madrimov with loads going in opposition to him, and he’s hoping that his previous success in opposition to a handful of lesser fighters at 147, 140, and 135 might be sufficient for him to do the identical factor at 154 in opposition to any such athlete.
Crawford is combating for cash now and now not loves the game like he as soon as did. When a fighter solely fights every year, it’s a sign that they’ve misplaced their love for boxing and simply seen it as a solution to replenish their financial institution accounts earlier than going off into one other prolonged trip of 1+ years.
Crawford might deny that, however the proof is there. If he beloved boxing, he would battle twice to thrice yearly like he used to as a result of he would earn more money. The ambition isn’t there, and that’s a nasty factor for him going right into a dangerous battle in opposition to a youthful fighter with extra energy than anybody he’s by no means competed in opposition to.
𝓓𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓶 𝓑𝓲𝓰 💭👑 @IsrailMadrimov#CrawfordMadrimov | Aug 3 | #RiyadhSeasonCard pic.twitter.com/ZN4IrlgGUi
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) July 21, 2024
