Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov preview and prediction

The pound-for-pound king is back on Saturday, Aug. 3 as Terence Crawford takes on Israil Madrimov for Madrimov’s WBA super welterweight title and the interim WBO super welterweight title. Fight fans have a lot to look forward to with this intriguing matchup and stacked undercard from the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. The fight will be broadcast on DAZN PPV with the main event ring walks expected around 11:30 p.m. ET.

Crawford is coming into this fight moving up to the 154 pound division for the first time in his career. The former undisputed super lightweight and welterweight champion is looking to take on another weight class to cement his status as an all-time great.

In Crawford’s last three fights, we’ve seen his stock as a legitimate legend skyrocket. In late 2021, we saw Crawford take on the always entertaining former champ, Shawn Porter 31-4-1 (17 KOs). Crawford dismantled Porter with relative ease. While the fight looked somewhat even over the first few rounds, Crawford was merely setting traps and calculating the distance to take over in the later rounds. In round 10 Crawford would drop Porter twice and end the fight via TKO. A year later, Crawford would take on former European champ David Avanesyan now at 30-5-1 (18 KOs). The fight was basically a stay-busy type of fight with ongoing discussions with the then-unified welterweight champion Errol Spence stuck in a standstill. Crawford would win every second of this fight and eventually stopped Avanesyan in round 6. After that fight, Crawford and Spence would come to terms and meet up in their highly anticipated undisputed clash. The fight itself turned out to be a mismatch. Crawford would drop Spence in round 2 and twice in round 7 en route to a round 9 stoppage. With that said Crawford is now determined to chase legacy fights and mega paydays. First in line for Crawford is taking over the 154-pound division.

Standing in Crawford’s path is WBA super welterweight champion Madrimov. Madrimov at only 11 fights is no pushover. Madrimov was a decorated amateur with well over 300 bouts. He captured gold at the 2017 Asian Championships and the 2018 Asian Games before turning pro in late 2018. With such an impressive amateur background, Madrimov would rise in the rankings quickly. Madrimov's first big test would come against former European champion Michel Soro now 36-4-2 (25 KOs) in a WBA title eliminator bout in 2021. In a back-and-forth fight Madrimov would catch Soro late in round nine. In a bit of confusion from the referee, Madrimov would land several punches after the bell and Soro would be unable to continue, ending as a TKO victory for Madrimov. The WBA would then order an immediate rematch but that bout ended prematurely from a head clash resulting in a technical draw. This past March Madimov would finally get a shot at the WBA super welterweight belt and ended up knocking out the then undefeated Magomed Kurbanov 25-1 (13 KOs) with a barrage of power punches. Looking forward, Madrimov is taking this fight with Crawford as a stepping stone to greatness and fame. A win over the future Hall of Famer Crawford will put him in that exact position.

The fight itself has a depth beyond the surface level. Crawford is coming into this fight at 36 years old and at the highest weight of his career. Could Father Time finally be catching up with Crawford? Likewise, could Crawford be pushing it too much going after one of the most dangerous 154-pound champions? On the flip side, Madrimov looks to be taking an astronomical leap in competition. While Madrimov has faced decent fighters like Soro and Kurbanov, his opposition is nowhere near Crawford’s talent. Is Madrimov rushing into a big fight too soon?

With these kinds of questions, this fight is not as clear-cut as it seems on paper. It will be a classic battle of an aging legend taking on a hungry up-and-comer.

Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov prediction

The key factor in this fight will be experience. Crawford has been a world champion since 2014 when he traveled to Glasgow, Scotland to dominate the reigning champion, Ricky Burns. Crawford, now with 40 professional fights under his belt and countless championship rounds, has seen and defeated every style imaginable. There's nothing Madrimov can bring to this fight that Crawford has not encountered. At the same time, we have not seen Crawford slow down one bit despite his advanced age in the sport. Quite interestingly, Crawford seems to be getting better and better, as evidenced by his destruction of Spence last year.

A good preview of this fight is the previously mentioned fight with Crawford and Porter. Porter has a similar stocky build and fight style that we see with Madrimov. Madrimov, like Porter, was an aggressive pressure fighter who led with explosive power punches. Look for Crawford to time and counter Madrimov on his powerful lunges. Madrimov will have his moments and land some shots against Crawford, but Crawford is simply too experienced for Madrimov. Look for Crawford to start tentatively but finish strong once he picks up the timing in the later rounds.

Official decision: Crawford by decision.