
Chris Algieri’s School of Thought: Terence Crawford can reclaim pound-for-pound glory from Oleksandr Usyk against Israil Madrimov
Terence Crawford, alongside Oleksandr Usyk, is definitely one of the two best fighters in the world.
Terence Crawford: record, next fight and profile →

Terence Crawford, alongside Oleksandr Usyk, is definitely one of the two best fighters in the world.

Uzbekistan has entered a rich period in its boxing history, with Israil Madrimov set to defend his 154-pound title against Terence Crawford and several Uzbek boxers going for gold at the Paris Olympics.

As Terence Crawford heads into a Saturday showdown against Israil Madrimov, aiming to become a four-division champion, the red carpet has been rolled out for him in a way he has never experienced.

erence Crawford’s bid for a world title in a fourth weight class and Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz’s quest toward an extended run as a world champion have cleared Friday’s weigh-in screening, heightening the buildup for Saturday night’s debut Saudi Arabia-backed card in downtown L.A.

LOS ANGELES – What’s known about and what’s seen from Terence Crawford as a boxer is spectacular. One of only two active double-undisputed world champions. The ability to jab and throw power punches with both hands. Forty fights, 40 victories, 31 knockouts. And a hellacious nasty streak that fuels his eagerness to finish wounded opponents.

WHEN recalling Terence Crawford’s ninth-round stoppage of Errol Spence in 2023 the first word that comes to mind is this: urgency. It was of course with great urgency that Crawford started his fight against Spence and it was then with even greater urgency that he compounded his rival’s misery when seeing him hurt, bewildered, unable to contend with either the speed or spite of Crawford’s attacks. It was also with no small amount of urgency that I left the T-Mobile Arena that night, leaving behind not only a scene of destruction but a slew of reporters rushing now towards this scene – to film stuff, to tweet stuff, to deliver their “deliverables” – rather than away from it.

After unifying titles at 140 and 147 pounds, Terence Crawford looks to add a belt at 154 pounds when he takes on tough Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Money is power. No two men in boxing are currently proving that more conclusively than Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Turki Alalshikh. If you can attract massive amounts of money, you hold power. Alvarez is about to get a $35 million guarantee to face Edgar Berlanga, a +800 underdog whom I wouldn’t see as a value play even if he was a +2000 underdog. Because he brings the money, Canelo can get away with taking a fight he can’t realistically lose and still get paid as if it’s a superfight.

Terence Crawford, the three-weight world champion, will attempt to conquer a fourth division on Saturday [July 30] when he takes on Israil Madrimov for the WBA junior middleweight title.

Israil Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) will look to defend his WBA junior middleweight title against Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) on Aug. 3 in the main event of Riyadh Season’s debut event in the United States at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. A vacant interim WBO title will be on the line as well.