Terence Crawford Beats Israil Madrimov By Judges’ Decision to Become 4-Division Champ

Alex BallentineAugust 4, 2024

Terence CrawfordAl Bello/Getty Images

Terence “Bud” Crawford became the WBA junior middleweight champion with a unanimous decision win over Israil Madrimov at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

Mike Coppinger @MikeCoppingerTerence Crawford becomes a four-division champion with a tight unanimous decision victory over Israil Madrimov: 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113. I had it 115-114. Good job by the judges. Crawford now the WBA 154-pound champion. #CrawfordMadrimov

Crawford got off to a calculating start. He spent much of the first round getting his reads and circling away from Madrimov’s attempts to close the distance.

The fight continued at a tactical pace in the early rounds. The Los Angeles crowd grew frustrated with the pace in the second round.

Steve Kim (Pres. of the Elija Lofton Fan Club) @SteveKim323Crowd getting restless in rd 2 with the lack of action in #CrawfordMadrimov #boxing

Regardless of the crowd’s response, Crawford picked up the pace and settled into a rhythm as the fight progressed. He began landing counters with ease as Madrimov tried to close the distance.

That being said, it wasn’t all bad from Madrimov. He earned the respect of multiple former fighters and analysts for his ability to keep the fight close and land a few hard shots in a few rounds.

Jamel Herring @JamelHerringThis fight is competitive. I’d like to see the adjustments both men make each round. @DAZNBoxing #CrawfordMadrimov

ShowtimeShawn Porter @ShowtimeShawnP4-1 Bud. Really good fight so far. Seems like this is gonna be close and gonna go the whole way

Madrimov was at least good enough to give Crawford a real test. It was important for Madrimov to provide a real challenge for Crawford since this was his first time in 154-pound weight class.. He landed some decent power shots and continued to press the action.

Top Rank passed along a highlight of Bud showing off his quick-trigger counter punching.

Top Rank Boxing @trboxingBud made Madrimov pay for that 🍿@Sela | #CrawfordMadrimov | #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/hSn3nbVn1s

Crawford maintained control of the fight for most of the night. He fought a smart bout even if he didn’t really open up piling up the damage. His strong finish helped him on the scorecards.

The win adds yet another impressive bullet point to one of the best resume’s in boxing right now. The 154-pound weight class is now the fourth that has seen Crawford earn a world title. The move up comes after an absolutely dominant run as a welterweight.

Crawford has been a welterweight since 2018 when he moved up to fight WBO champion Jeff Horn, winning by a ninth-round TKO. He defended that belt six times before unifying all of the belts with a ninth-round TKO of Errol Spence Jr.

Spence Jr. had a rematch clause and activated it, but Crawford grew tired of negotiations, the clause expired and this opportunity came up for the Nebraskan.

Winning this belt wasn’t the main attraction for Crawford to move up to junior middleweight, though. Crawford has the biggest potential fight of his career in mind with a potential bout against Canelo Alvarez on his radar.

Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, has already told Crawford that he’s looking to set up a big fight for him.

“No one delivered a good fight for him,” Alalshikh told ESPN. “When you reach this time of age and glory, you pick your fights. If they give you the right money and the right fighters, you will take it. No one gave him that in the last four years.”

When Crawford finally got a huge opportunity to put on a show against a top opponent in Spence, he delivered a masterful performance. Alvarez would be the next level. Crawford and Alvarez are ranked third and fourth respectively on Bleacher Report’s latest pound-for-pound rankings.