By: Sean Crose
Terence Crawford returns to the ring for the first time in a year on Saturday when he takes on WBA middleweight champion Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles. The fight is scheduled for twelve rounds, as the main event of a DAZN pay-per-view broadcast live from LA’s BMO Stadium. Crawford is making the jump from welterweight, where he was last seen dominating Errol Spence, a fighter considered his equal, in a legitimate superfight in 2023.
The first round was largely a probing affair – not unusual in Crawford’s fights. The second round was also a tense affair, although the fighters began to open up in the latter part of the round. Crawford could have won the third round with a few well-placed shots. Madrimov, on the other hand, was so patient that he almost let the round slip away. The fourth round saw Madrimov come alive and take down Crawford, who hits fast and hard.
Crawford went down after a slip in the fifth, then was hit several times by Madrimov. The sixth round was extremely close. This was one of those fights where neither man had a spectacular moment – at least not yet. Madrimov continued to fight smartly in the seventh, but Crawford was landing the better shots. The fighters finally started to shoot each other in the eighth. It was a close, frustrating fight to score.
Madrimov’s sharp shooting probably won him the ninth round. The fight remained fairly tight in the tenth. Both fighters had their moments, and it was hard to tell who really had the upper hand. Madrimov was great in the eleventh round, so great that he lost focus for a moment and was hit hard by Crawford, who went on to win the round. The twelfth and final round saw Crawford landing well. Madrimov himself landed well, but Crawford may have come out on top.
After the bell ended the fight, the judges ruled in favor of Crawford with a close unanimous decision.
