3 things we learned at Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov

On Saturday night, Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season traveled to Los Angeles, California for a stacked boxing event headlined by Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov. His Excellency delivered on another unpredictable night of fights, as several boxers secured upset wins.

Crawford vs. Madrimov started with a surprising result as undefeated Ziyad Al Maayouf from Saudi Arabia couldn't capitalize on being a massive favorite. Maayouf battled with Michal Bulik, who was 6-7, in a six-round contest at 147 pounds. Once the dust settled, the matchup was ruled a draw, pushing the 24-year-old's professional record to 2-0-1.

Next up was 36-year-old Steven Nelson. The American showcased an impressive performance against Marcos Vazquez by battering him before securing a fifth-round knockout win. Cuban talent was on display for the third and fourth fights, as Andy Cruz and David Morrell extended their undefeated records. Cruz knocked out Antonio Moran in round seven for the IBF International and WBA continental Americas lightweight title.

Meanwhile, Morrell won an uninspiring unanimous decision against Radivoje Kalajdzic for the WBA regular lightweight world title. This is where the unexpected results started happening. American heavyweight Jared Anderson suffered the first loss of his professional career against Martin Bakole. The 31-year-old exposed Anderson with his vicious power and finished the fight in round five to win the WBO Internation and NABF heavyweight titles.

Andy Ruiz Jr also endured a shocking result, as his fight against Jarrell Miller, who looked awful last time out, was scored a majority draw. To be fair, Ruiz suffered a han injury during the heavyweight matchup that allegedly hindered his performance.

In the co-main event, fan-favorite Isaac 'Pitbull' Cruz returned with an opportunity to defend his WBA super lightweight world title and showcase why he deserves a big-time matchup next time out. Unfortunately for him, Jose Valenzuela wasn't there to be a stepping stone and pulled off an upset win by unanimous decision.

Lastly, Terence Crawford fought in the main event with plans to extend his legacy by becoming the WBA and interim WBO super welterweight world champion. 'Bud' pulled off the win against Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision (116-112 and 115-113 x2) and pushed his professional record to 41-0. Let's take a look at three things learned from Saturday night's event.

1. Concerts shouldn't take place before main events

Saturday was filled with combat sports action, including UFC Abu Dhabi, BKFC 63, and even WWE SummerSlam for those interested in professional wrestling. Toward the end of the night, Terence Crawford's return to the boxing ring was the only thing keeping the energy going.

Before Crawford and Madrimov made the walk, legendary rapper Eminem did a live performance inside the BMO Stadium. No disrespect to the Detroit rapper because he's one of the greatest of all time, but the last thing needed was a concert and several nation anthems after a long day of fights.

Eminem would have been the perfect performer earlier in the night, as his appearance made the entire event feel more important. Therefore, he could have been appreciated more instead of boxing fans getting frustrated that they weren't watching Crawford enter the ring.

2. Terence Crawford needs statement performance in his next fight

Once the festivities concluded, Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov finally made their highly-anticipated walks. For those who don't know, Madrimov tends to be a slow starter, while Crawford is a counter fighter who adjusts to his opponents. As most analysts expected, the first few rounds of Saturday's main event were lackluster as the welterweights felt each other out.

Unfortunately, Crawford vs. Madrimov didn't reach the fans' expectations. Everyone waited for them to pick up the pace, but suddenly round ten started and things didn't drastically change. Madrimov struggled to overcome Crawford's superior boxing skills, while 'Bud' didn't put his foot on the gas pedal and secure a knockout like most people thought.

Crawford deserves respect for moving up and becoming a four-division world champion. With that said, the 36-year-old didn't make a significant statement to make fans demand a super-fight against Canelo Alvarez. In fact, there was slight controversy on the decision, as part of the boxing world believes Saturday night's main event could have been scored a draw.

Regardless of what's next for Crawford, he needs to silence the doubters and prove there's more gas left in the tank. Don't overanalyze this statement because 'Bud' could retire tomorrow and be a legend. The only concern is that his legacy could be altered by a disappointing performance against Canelo or another elite superstar.

3. Turki Alalshikh is needed for modern-day boxing to grow

Over the last few years, Turki Alalshikh started committing his time and resources to professional boxing Since then, His Excellency has helped produce the following matchups - Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, Fury vs. Francis Ngannou, Anthony Joshua vs. Ngannou, Joseph Parker vs. Deontay Wilder, Zhang Zhilei vs. Wilder, Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol in October, and more.

At Crawford vs. Madrimov, Alalshikh further proved he's important to the sport of boxing, as the night was filled with superstars and world-class fighters.

There were questions and concerns about Alalshikh at first about how his influence would affect professional boxing. A massive influx of resources from Saudi Arabia helps put together massive fights but could also corrupt a sport that has a history of controversy.

For now, it's difficult to argue against Alalshikh's contributions being positive for professional boxing. "The Sweet Science" was arguably on the decline due to the best fighters not fighting each other due to the risk of losing, which would drastically effect their marketability.

More recently, Alalshikh's resources has simplified the complicated negotiations between boxers and their teams. Furthermore, fighters have noticeably been willing to take more risks and accept the matchups that fans want to see, helping the sport grow.

Alalshikh isn't satisfied with only promoting professional boxing. Earlier this year, the UFC traveled to Saudi Arabia for a fight night headlined by Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov. On September 14, Alalshikh's Riyadh Season will be associated with UFC 306, going down inside the Sphere in Las Vegas Dana White has claimed this event will be the greatest combat sports spectacle of all time.