He walked the distance for the first time in almost a decade, but Terence Crawford completed it on Saturday night.
Crawford beat WBA super welterweight champion Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision in a thrilling 12-round fight at the BMO Arena in Los Angeles on Saturday. That officially gave Crawford, who moved up to 154 pounds for the first time in his career, his fourth title in as many divisions.
“He had quick feet, good rhythm on top and he was strong,” Crawford said of Madrimov in the ring. “He was waiting to oppose me as I was waiting to oppose him… He fought the good fight.”
Crawford, who started his professional career in 2009 at super lightweight, was the heavy favorite going into the fight on Saturday night. There was a problem with his gloves earlier in the night, too, when one of them came apart at the sides. That only came after he initially objected to Madrimov’s Grant Gloves, though he later agreed to wear them. That slowed his warming up a bit.
The first few games were very slow, as both guys seemed to get along – although Crawford seemed to have a slight advantage before Madrimov hung in there. He even took a few shots to the head in the third round and sent Crawford to the mat shortly after the fifth round, though it was ruled a trip and Crawford seemed unfazed.
Crawford responded with head shots in the sixth round to take a step back in the middleweight division. Although Madrimov appeared to be closing in on the eighth and ninth round – he hit Crawford’s head in the ninth round, perhaps his best of the night – Crawford responded every time with success. Crawford then came out on fire in the final match in an attempt to secure his victory which, despite not being able to finish Madrimov, pulled out the win.
Crawford won the fight 115-113 on two scorecards and 116-112 on the third to claim one victory. That pushed him to 41-0, and officially handed Madrimov the first loss of his career.
“He only had 11 fights, but he was strong,” Crawford said: “To come in and fight a guy like him in my first fight. [at 154 pounds] it says a lot about my team. ”
Here’s how the big pay-per-view card came to fruition:
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Crawford-Madrimov main card results, highlights
Super welterweight: Terence Crawford explains. Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision (115-113, 115-113, 116-112)
Super lightweight: Jose Valenzuela def. Isaac Cruz by split decision (116-112, 113-115, 116-112)
Heavyweight: Jarrell Miller vs. Andy Ruiz ends up with more fights (112-116, 114-114, 114-114)
Weight gain: Martin Bakole explains. Jared Anderson by KO in R5:
Lightweight: David Morrell explains. Radivoje Kalajdzic by unanimous decision (118-110, 118-110, 117-111)
Light: Andy Cruz explains. Antonio Moran by KO in R7:
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