Terence Crawford will should be in the identical kind he was a yr in the past to have an opportunity of dethroning the youthful, stronger, and extra energetic WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August third.
(Credit score: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Madrimov’s model has turn out to be 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 night time to keep away from battle? Given his further weight, 13 months of inactivity, and age, it is going to be tough for him to try this for twelve rounds with out tiring.
The energy that the 29-year-old Madrimov possesses is larger than something the 36-year-old Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) has skilled earlier than throughout his 16-year skilled profession.
It’s not time for Crawford to combat somebody with the ability 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 towards Canelo Alvarez.
We’ve seen Crawford damage in fights towards these fighters:
– Egidijus Kavaliauskas
– Dierry Jean
– Yuriorkis Gamboa
Terence hasn’t confronted many large punchers throughout his profession. Though Crawford did combat Errol Spence, he appeared bodily out of it in that combat, 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 towards Crawford that night time confirmed that making weight had taken rather a lot out of him.
Crawford goes into the combat with Madrimov with rather a lot going towards him, and he’s hoping that his previous success towards a handful of lesser fighters at 147, 140, and 135 will likely be sufficient for him to do the identical factor at 154 towards such a athlete.
Crawford is preventing for cash now and now not loves the game like he as soon as did. When a fighter solely fights annually, it’s a sign that they’ve misplaced their love for boxing and simply seen it as a method 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 cherished boxing, he would combat 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 foul factor for him going right into a dangerous combat towards a youthful fighter with extra energy than anybody he’s by no means competed towards.
𝓓𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓶 𝓑𝓲𝓰 💭👑 @IsrailMadrimov#CrawfordMadrimov | Aug 3 | #RiyadhSeasonCard pic.twitter.com/ZN4IrlgGUi
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) July 21, 2024
