A brutal life being raised, effectively in the wild, of Uzbekistan is one thing.
A main event under the hot lights of a summer ring in Los Angeles, with Terence Crawford in the opposing corner, is quite another.
For new WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs), the opportunity to parlay that title glory into a victory over an unbeaten three-division champion is appetizing.
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In the eyes of ProBox TV analysts Teddy Atlas and Paulie Malignaggi, pulling off that upset will require a display of slippage from Crawford, who will turn 37 a month after the Aug. 3 fight at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
“At this time, you can always age overnight,” former welterweight titleholder Malignaggi said on Tuesday’s episode of “Deep Waters.” “Guys [just] show up older. You consider that in the Madrimov fight.”
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) will have been out of the ring for a full calendar year when he steps into the ring at BMO Stadium to headline the debut U.S. card of Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the nation’s General Entertainment Authority.
However, that most recent bout was a doozy – an utter domination of then-unbeaten three-belt welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., which Crawford closed with a ninth-round stoppage to cement his second term as an undisputed champion (after also doing so at 140 pounds).
“It’s like going into a sausage grinder. [Crawford’s] going to grind you up with counterpunches,” Atlas predicted, predicting that age and slowed skills “are the only things I see beating Crawford.
“It’s not [linked to] moving up in weight. And he doesn’t have a lot of miles on the odometer. I judge a guy by the amount of punches he’s taken, by how many tough fights he’s been in. He’s still fresh. I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”
Madrimov, who counts unbeaten light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and former unified junior featherweight titleholder Murodjon Akhmadaliev as gym mates in the Coachella Valley desert locale of Indio, California, has seen an inspired rise to becoming a world titleholder after a distinguished amateur career and a gritty youth.
“Madrimov is rough around the edges and can give you a rough time,” Malignaggi said. “He’s a new champion and he’s going to be hungry and wanting to create a bigger name for himself and his legacy. Crawford [would] be a huge feather to have in his hat.
“But if Madrimov is going to have a chance, he has to hope Crawford has lost a few steps.”
Atlas responded that “the problem for Madrimov is going to be speed and all the elements Crawford brings. He’s got good eyes, good timing; he’s so calm that he slows the fight down like Michael Jordan would slow the game down.
“I’ve watched Madrimov and, yeah, he’s a real experienced amateur and, yeah, he’s physically strong and, yeah, he’s technically solid.
“But he’s also predictable. He comes at you straight on, uses his physicality, goes to the body. His feet and his hands are too slow. Both of those will conspire against him.”
Crawford and Madrimov appeared together in New York on Wednesday for the introductory news conference to launch their bout.
