Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov both fought very, very well on Saturday night. So much so the only fair reason I can see anyone having for criticising Crawford is if they’re considering whether he can keep Saul “Canelo” Alvarez off him should they ever fight.
A big difference is that, in 2024, Madrimov’s a little more complete than Canelo, who might press Crawford without the same head movement. But weight classes matter, and the pressure from Canelo might be too much for Crawford, given there were times Crawford – who, again, fought a great fight – struggled against Madrimov.
One of the problems some eastern European fighters encounter is, through being moved so quickly as professionals as a consequence of their amateur achievements, their reputation isn’t built as it otherwise might have been, meaning they end up at world level without big profiles or followings. Madrimov, similarly, wasn’t well known, but even in defeat he enhanced his reputation because people could see how good he really is. He competed, throughout, with the world’s best fighter, pound for pound, in a fight in which both fighters showed the highest of IQs. It was close enough it could even have been scored a draw.
Crawford’s not necessarily the strongest of fighters at 154lbs, but his IQ’s so high that he can compete with anyone there – just not without risk. He’s in a very competitive division, and he’s 36 years old; the prospect of him fighting Tim Tszyu, Sebastian Fundora, Vergil Ortiz Jr, Serhii Bohachuk or Madrimov again is very appealing. If anything, there’s less talent at 160lbs than 154lbs, but 168lbs regardless looks too far.
In the aftermath of Crawford beating Errol Spence at 147lbs, I couldn’t understand talk of him fighting Canelo at 168lbs. None of which is to say I think they won’t fight. Canelo has to be the favourite against Edgar Berlanga in September – Berlanga’s struggled at world level and is jumping up in class – and unless Canelo fights David Benavidez or David Morrell, his biggest threats at 168lbs, there aren’t many alternatives. Canelo-Crawford could even happen in May 2025.
If Crawford stays at 154lbs, which he should, he’ll be prominent in one of the world’s best weight divisions. The fight between Ortiz Jr, to my mind the narrow favourite, and Bohachuk on Saturday is so appealing that even the loser remains a potential future opponent; Tszyu also shouldn’t be held back because of the cut he suffered against Fundora; and I’d be just as interested in a rematch with Madrimov.
On the same promotion as Madrimov-Crawford, Jared Anderson was stopped in five rounds by Martin Bakole. The money Anderson was paid – it was another card overseen by the Saudi Arabian powerbrokers – means that it was probably worth the risk he took in fighting Bakole. Either way, I thought it’d been a while since Anderson looked like he was progressing as a fighter. He looked like he’d stopped improving back when he beat Charles Martin – which can happen to a prospect whether they’re lacking in focus, or simply short of the ability they need to keep stepping up.
Beyond some heart, Anderson showed very little. He didn’t look anything like the level Bakole’s on, and because of the way his progress had already stalled, I’m not convinced it was a case of it simply being too early for him. There can no longer be any doubt that he wasn’t sufficiently motivated against more recent, less risky opponents; against the fighter who posed a threat, he looked out of his depth.
He lacked subtlety; he couldn’t adjust to what Bakole offered. So much so that Bakole made it look very, very easy. I can’t honestly say I was shocked – I’d already started to question whether America’s desperation to have another leading heavyweight meant there was misplaced faith in him reaching the top.
Fighters can, of course, recover from defeats, but I don’t see him as a future champion. If he can recover a sense of focus he can still earn some big purses, but I’m not sure there’s too much more in his future.
Bakole, meanwhile, deserves to remain in the mix for big fights – and Andy Ruiz’s broken hand makes Jarrell Miller a suitable opponent for him.
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