Terence Crawford secured his fourth title across as many divisions on Saturday night with a victory over Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles. Crawford went the full distance for the first time since 2016.
In a thrilling 12-round contest at BMO Stadium, Crawford defeated the WBA super welterweight champion Madrimov by unanimous decision. This marked Crawford’s first bout at 154 pounds, adding another title to his collection.
“He had fast feet, good rhythm, and was strong,” Crawford remarked about Madrimov after the fight. “He was waiting to counter me just like I was waiting to counter him … He fought a good fight.”
Crawford, who began his professional career in 2009 at super lightweight, was the firm favorite going into Saturday’s match. An issue with his gloves, which split at the seams, caused a slight delay in his warm-up. Crawford had initially objected to Madrimov’s Grant Gloves but later accepted to wear them.
The match started slow, with both fighters evaluating each other. Crawford seemed to have a slight edge early, but Madrimov stayed resilient. In the third round, Madrimov landed some heavy shots. Crawford briefly went down in the fifth round, which was ruled a trip.
Responding decisively in the sixth round with a combination of head shots, Crawford took the advantage. Madrimov landed a solid blow in the ninth round, his best of the night, but Crawford always found a way to answer back. In the final round, Crawford applied pressure to ensure his victory.
Crawford won with scores of 115-113 on two scorecards and 116-112 on the third, pushing his record to 41-0 and giving Madrimov his first career loss.
“He only had 11 fights, but he was strong,” Crawford said. “For us to come in and fight a guy of his caliber in my first fight [at 154 pounds] says a lot about my team.”
Here are the results from the pay-per-view main card:
Super welterweight: Terence Crawford defeated Israil Madrimov via unanimous decision (115-113, 115-113, 116-112)
Super lightweight: Jose Valenzuela defeated Isaac Cruz by split decision (116-112, 113-115, 116-112)
Heavyweight: Jarrell Miller vs. Andy Ruiz ended in a majority draw (112-116, 114-114, 114-114)
Heavyweight: Martin Bakole defeated Jared Anderson by KO in Round 5
Light heavyweight: David Morrell defeated Radivoje Kalajdzic by unanimous decision (118-110, 118-110, 117-111)
Lightweight: Andy Cruz defeated Antonio Moran by KO in Round 7