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By: Sean Crose
It appears the question of when the great Terence Crawford will return to the ring has been answered. According to numerous reports, the undefeated pound for pound king will make the leap to junior middleweight to take on WBA titlist Israil Madrimov at Los Angeles’ BMO Stadium on August 3’d. It will be the first time the fighter known as “Bud” has fought since completely dominating Errol Spence in a welterweight championship superfight last summer. For the Madrimov fight, Crawford will once again be moving up in weight, much as he did from lightweight to junior welterweight, then from junior welterweight to welterweight as his career progressed.
This, of course, is an enormous opportunity for Madrimov, who – although he possesses the WBA’s world super welterweight title – isn’t exactly a household name. The 29 year old will certainly find himself in the spotlight if he ends up upsetting the 36 year old Crawford. For, while both men are undefeated, it’s Crawford who has the far more impressive resume. With forty wins against zero defeats, Crawford has won world titles in three weight divisions, having bested such notables as Amir Khan, and Shawn Porter, along with the aforementioned Spence, along the way.
With that being said, the 10-0-1 Madrimov bested the previously undefeated Magomed Kurbanov via fifth round stoppage this past March in order to win his WBA belt. Furthermore, 7 out of the man’s 10 victories have come before the sound of the final bell. There’s no doubt Madrimov can hit, but does he stand much of a chance against the sublime Crawford? The odds will no doubt respond in the negative. Still, if fans learned anything from last weekend’s memorable Ryan Garcia-Devin Haney matchup, it’s that no one can be entirely written off when it comes to the fight game.
Importantly, it appears that the Crawford-Madrimov fight will be accompanied by a loaded undercard. Leo Santa Cruz is emerging from years in the boxing shadows to face Abner Mares for the third time. Likewise, former toast of boxing Andy Ruiz will also be returning to the ring. His opponent, Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, is yet another man looking to make a comeback. Lastly, Isaac Cruz, fresh off his win over Rolando Romero in late winter will be back to take on Jose Valenzuela, whose fresh off his own victory over Chris Colbert last December. All in all, this has the ingredients of a interesting night of boxing.
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