Promoter Eddie Hearn has doubts about Terence Crawford defeating WBA middleweight champion Israil Madrimov if their fight takes place on August 3 in Los Angeles.
Eddie felt it was a mistake for fans to assume Crawford would beat Madrimov because he was facing a different type of monster than anyone he had faced before during his 16-year career.
Crawford is a good fighter, but his resume is thin. He had none other than auto-crash Errol Spence to show for his long career. Once you get past Spence, Crawford's resume is filled with fighters whose time has passed, like Amir Khan, Kell Brook, Shawn Porter, Ricky Burns and Julius Indongo.
Hearn mentioned the size and punching power of Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) will be a problem for Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs), who has never fought at 154 throughout his 16-year career and neither. a spring chicken in 36 weather.
Age, inactivity, facing a young opponent in Madrimov and being a rookie at the junior middleweight division could be too much for Crawford on August 3.
Sir Turki Alalshikh is interested in sparking a fight between Crawford and 26-year-old Jaron 'Boots' Ennis, but that fight cannot happen unless Terence comes through against Madrimov.
Crawford's underrated challenge
“We are discussing the next match. It's not us acting on behalf of Terence, it's us acting on behalf of Israil Madrimov, and I'm not sure Terence can beat Israil Madrimov,” promoter Eddie Hearn told fighttalks about the ongoing negotiations for the fight between Terence Crawford and WBA middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3 in Los Angeles.
We'll soon see if the Crawford vs Madrimov fight takes place. Even with His deep pockets, Crawford could still pay a high price if he asked for too much money. Crawford is a good fighter, but he has never drawn a draw.
If he demands the Canelo Alvarez type to fight Madrimov, then HE might look the other way at one of the many talented contenders at 154.
“At 154, against a huge puncher, when you're talking about rehydration and all that stuff, Madrimov is going to come in like a monster in that fight,” Hearn said. “I probably rate Crawford as No. 1, but I think it would be naive to start looking at other fights for Terence Crawford until he faces and overcomes Israil Madrimov if that fight happens. ”
Madrimov's obstacles in defeating Crawford:
- Shortage experience against elite competition: Madrimov has never fought anyone nearly as talented as Crawford.
- Reach: Terence will have a six-inch reach advantage over Madrimov and he will likely use his jab to prolong the fight.
- Low working rate: Madrimov is a shooting fighter and he's not busy enough to beat an old fighter like Crawford. He will have to adopt a Gennadiy Golovkin style of offense to defeat Crawford as occasionally throwing single punches will not be effective.
- Endurance problem: Madrimov looked tired in some of his matches, even if his pace was slow and his work rate was low.
Keep an eye on Jaron “Boots” Ennis
“If he gets through that fight, Crawford vs. Jaron Ennis is probably one of the biggest fights in the sport, and He wants to make the best and biggest fights. We saw Sir Jaron on Friday and he said to him, 'I want to turn you against Crawford.' Jaron Ennis's response was, 'Yes, please, I'm ready, anytime you want.'”
Some boxing fans believe that Crawford wants nothing to do with fighting Jaron Ennis and will be against it when negotiations begin if he gets past Madrimov. The fight Crawford wants is Canelo Alvarez to get that great payday.
But Crawford doesn't seem to want to win it the hard way by moving up to 168 and swimming with the sharks in the tournament. What's interesting is that Crawford wasn't even interested in facing Boots Ennis. He wanted to fight Tim Tszyu before losing the title, and then he reportedly wanted to fight Sebastian Fundora.
“Therefore, Mr [Boots] Must defend your title first [against Cody Crowley], and who knows what will happen later this year? There is no doubt about it,” Hearn said when asked if Boots was on par with Crawford.
