Terence Crawford looked like a genuine 154-pounder when he weighed in tonight for his title defense against WBA Junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
Weights:
Terence Crawford 153 1/2
Israil Madrimov: 154
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) looked serious as he stared down Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) on stage during their face-off, letting him know he meant business on Saturday. Madrimov was squinting at Crawford, and it’s unclear if this was done to intimidate him or if he couldn’t see well.
The two fighters are in excellent shape and ready to fight in tomorrow night’s main event at the sold-out BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, part of the Riyadh Season.
Crawford’s Mission: Impress Canelo
It’s essential that Crawford forget about boxing and make the fight as interesting as possible because he needs to convince Canelo Alvarez that it’s worthwhile for him to fight him next year.
Unless His Excellency Turki Alalshikh throws crazy money at Canelo, Crawford must brawl with Madrimov to encourage him to take this fight.
It might help Crawford if he shows some vulnerability against Madrimov by getting dropped once or twice because if he looks too good, he could wind up in the same boat as David Benavidez and be avoided.
“I think it’s going to be a breeze for him. I think he moved into the division correctly,” said Shawn Porter to DAZN Boxing about how Terence Crawford will handle fighting at 154 against Israil Madrimov on Saturday night.
Crawford Looks Ready to Bully Madrimov at 154
“The funny thing is, he has both physical and mental strength. I think that whatever he’s lacking here [size], he makes up here [mentally], and all of a sudden, he becomes this big bully in the ring,” Porter said about Crawford. “I have a feeling he’s going to try to bully Madrimov on fight night.
“That means he’s going to walk into what Madrimov wants him to. A firefight. Madrimov wants him to show his strength,” said Ade Oladipo about Crawford. “This is so intriguing. We don’t know so much about Madrimov.
“His last fight was a world title fight [against Magomed Kurbanov]. Is there more. Is there a ceiling that we don’t know?
