2024-08-03 22:05:01
Terence Crawford lands a punch against Errol Spence Jr.Al Bello/Getty Images
It’s wholly unsurprising that Crawford is a sizable favorite despite another move up the scale for him. This is Crawford’s first fight since he put on a dominant show against Errol Spence to briefly unify all the welterweight belts.
Spence is a much bigger star than Madrimov, but the move up to this weight class could be the bigger hurdle for Crawford. The 36-year-old captured his first world title at 130 pounds. Even some of the greatest fighters of all time have found a limit to how far they can go up and still be dominant.
Still, Crawford has a much bigger potential opportunity in his sights if eh can make the weight and fight well.
“I think that’s the biggest fight in boxing; I think me and Canelo colliding is like [Floyd] Mayweather and Canelo at that level,” Crawford said, per Mike Coppinger of ESPN. “… I just feel I’m definitely not going to be doing this for much longer. I can assure you that.”
If there’s a narrative to sell that this could be an upset it’s that Crawford has been willing to take about a future opponent and impending retirement while moving up another weight class. Those could all work against him from a preparation standpoint.
Madrimov has not had a whole lot of professional fights to build a reputation. After a stellar amateur run he only has 11 bouts, but he’s a world champion in the weight class.
Madrimov’s power punching makes the move up for Bud all the more intriguing. Crawford has been able to neutralize power puncher in the past, but Madrimov will be bigger than anyone else he has fought.
Still, the prediction here is that we won’t see judges’ scorecards and Crawford will take Madrimov out.
The looming Canelo possibility could serve as a distraction, but it could also be fuel. Crawford knows that a dominant performance at 154 pounds will only drive up the interest (and payout) for a fight with Alvarez.
Expect Crawford’s superior Fight IQ, ability to play the role of counter-puncher or aggressor and his timing should be enough for him to neutralize Madrimov’s attack while firing back with enough stuff to set up a mid-round finish.
