Last weekend saw Terence Crawford attain the WBA and WBO [interim] super welterweight titles to become a four-weight division champion following arguably the toughest match of his career against Uzbek fighter Israil Madrimov. In addition, lightweight contender Caroline Dubois seems closer than ever to a world title shot after earning the [vacant] WBC interim belt against Uruguayan contender Mairo Moneo in a shutout victory.

Terence Crawford Vs. Israil Madrimov

Terence Crawford (41-0, 30 KO’s) and Israil Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KO’s) headlined a Los Angeles card at the BMO Stadium on Saturday, August 3rd. The event was further sponsored by the Saudi-based Riyadh Season, making this event the first they organized outside of their native country. Madrimov entered the ring as the WBA super welterweight (154 lbs) champion, while the vacant WBO interim title had been made available for both fighters to win. Crawford debuted at 154 lbs for this match.

From the onset, it was clear that Israil Madrimov suffered from a lack of popularity and acknowledgement of his ability that made the ensuing match different than what people had anticipated. Madrimov, who had over 300 amateur fights, seems to have been widely considered a layover opponent due to only having 10 professional fights, but the Uzbek champion proved himself to be elite against Terence Crawford, and a genuine talent on par with the likes of Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24 KO’s) and Vasyl Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KO’s)―two pound-for-pound (P4P) fighters who, like Madrimov, managed to become world champions within 10 professional fights.

The betting odds seemed heavily skewed when compared to bouts such as Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KO’s) vs. Francis Ngannou (0-2, 0 KO’s), of which the closing range of odds depicted Ngannou’s chances actually being higher-rated against Joshua prior to the fight in comparison to Madrimov’s own chances against Crawford―despite Madrimov having been an active champion and having a stellar amateur pedigree.

The fight itself was a tight-knit affair. Both fighters demonstrated a high-level of skill and ring IQ, turning their match into a technical and tactical battle that went past the understanding of casual boxing fans who are not well-versed in thoroughly understanding close-natured fights between elite competitors.

Throughout the fight, notably the 36-year old Terence Crawford took up a southpaw stance against the orthodox-stanced Madrimov. Though Crawford is a stance switcher and able to fight both orthodox and southpaw, it appeared he chose the latter stance to neutralize Madrimov’s jab. However, it also allowed Madrimov plenty of opportunities with his powerful right hand―which was proven to be lethal during his fight in March against Magomed Kurbanov (25-1, 13 KO’s).

Faced against the toughest opponent to date, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Terence Crawford who struggled to be efficient against the elusive Israil Madrimov who used his head and body movement well to become extremely difficult to hit. Likely aware of Crawford’s own accuracy, Madrimov seemed to adopt a gameplan that allowed for him to show his defensive capabilities which almost threatened to turn the fight into a drab match.

It further forced Crawford to be more active, which didn’t entirely work in his favor as his punch stat efficiency clearly declined with a decent amount of misses ensuing as a result. However, Crawford also demonstrated his own ability and determination as a fighter, consistently applying his jabs, using combinations and throwing plenty of body shots to win most of the rounds.

For most of the fight, Crawford fought on the backfoot but this wasn’t an indication of him being on the defensive as he tried to pinpoint Madrimov. The most glaring factor of this match was notably the lack of punches by Madrimov, which ultimately worked against given the 29-year old came into the ring as the younger fighter and the reigning champion.

Compared to the other fights on the main card, Madrimov’s lack of attacks seemed even more glaring given he threw less punches than any of the other fighters that fought on the main card―less than even the likes of big heavyweights (200+ lbs) such as Jarrell Miller (26-1-2, 22 KO’s) and Andy Ruiz Jr. (35-2-1, 22 KO’s) who competed in the same event.

According to CompuBox, while Madrimov largely reigned when it came to his punch efficiency, he threw only 275 shots in total, lower than even Ruiz Jr. who, coming off a two-year stint of inactivity, threw a total of 355 punches over the course of 12 rounds.

It became evident that Madrimov’s lack of activity would work against him in the long run, allowing Crawford to net a close victory as he remained as active as possible despite the challenges of hitting Madrimov cleanly. While less active than Madrimov could have been, he had some success with his power punches which as the CompuBox punch stats indicate were thrown much more than his jabs.

However, Madrimov’s overreliance on his power punches seemed to be his downfall as he failed to actually control the match or the pace of it, despite his front foot approach. The number of actual clean punches, not discernible on CompuBox’s punch stats, were also slim and failed to stop Crawford from engaging with him throughout the match.

At the end of the 12 rounds, Terence Crawford was announced the winner by unanimous decision with scorecards of 115-113 twice, and 116-112, resulting in Terence Crawford earning the WBA 154 lbs title―and the WBO interim title―to make him a 4-weight division champion.

It was a tough match for Crawford whose reputation over the past dozen or so fights as a hard-hitter seems to have evaporated. The pre-match odds where Madrimov was painted as a lowly opponent also didn’t help matters, but there is a bright side to the match where Madrimov confirmed himself to be an absolute elite competitor that can potentially take over the 154 lbs division given the time and opportunities.

Terence Crawford also distinguished himself once more against one of the best fighters he’s faced, or will ever face, throughout his career, though again the public perception of the much lesser-known Madrimov, despite his world champion status prior, might actually affect Crawford’s standing in the sport of boxing adversely. However, such notions would also discredit Madrimov’s talent.

Objectively speaking, both fighters have proven their talent in a tough and close match that was a testament to their abilities, which should be reflected accordingly in the sanctioning bodies’ upcoming rankings. With the WBA and WBO interim 154 lbs titles now in his grasp, Crawford will be tipped to face unified WBC and WBO 154 lbs champion Sebastian Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KO’s), though a Canelo Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KO’s) still hangs in the balance according to Riyadh Season organizer Turki Alalshikh.

Undercard results:

• The co-main event featured WBA super lightweight (140 lbs) Mexican champion Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (26-3-1, 13 KO’s) defending his WBA title for the first time against American challenger Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KO’s). Notably, Valenzuela made his 140 lbs debut as he moved up from lightweight (135 lbs), identical to when Cruz fought and won for the 140 lbs WBA title when he faced Rolando “Rolly” Romero (15-2, 13 KO’s) in March.
  
  The fight turned to be a showcase fight for Valenzuela who fought a Cruz that didn’t deviate from his usual style of closing the distance and unleashing in the pocket. Fighting on the backfoot, Valenzuela almost fought the perfect fight as he countered and boxed well while attempting to maintain his distance, cognizant of Cruz’ pressure style of fighting.
  
  
  LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 03: Isaac Cruz ‘Pitbull’ from Mexico City, Mexico and Jose Valenzuela ”Rayo” from Seattle, USA/Sinaloa, Mexico exchange punches during their WBA World 140 LB. title of the Premiere Boxing Championship during Riyadh Season on Saturday night at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California United States on August 03, 2024. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
  
  There were close moments in the fight, but it was ultimately Valenzuela who set himself apart as he won the majority of rounds to eventually be announced the winner by split-decision with scorecards of 116-112 twice and 113-115. The 113-115 scorecard, in favor of Cruz, appears egregiously out of place and will likely be regarded as controversial.
  
  
• At heavyweight, American fighters Andy Ruiz Jr. and Jarrell Miller fought to a standstill draw with score with only one of the scorecards [116-112] going in favor of Ruiz Jr. The two other scorecards [114-114] painted their fight as a draw, culminating in both fighters netting a split-decision draw.
  
  
  LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 03: Andy Ruiz ”The Destroyer”’ (in black short) from Imperial, California and Jarrell Miller ”Big Baby” (in blue short) from Brooklyn, New York exchange punches during their WBA World heavyweight title of the Premiere Boxing Championship during Riyadh Season on Saturday night at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California United States on August 03, 2024. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
  
• At light-heavyweight (175 lbs), Cuban fighter David Morrell (11-0, 9 KO’s) made his debut as he engaged with Serbian-American fighter Radivoje Kalajdzic (29-3, 21 KO’s) for the vacant WBA 175 lbs “regular” title. Morrell won his title but his knockout (KO) streak was broken as he coursed to a unanimous decision (UD) win over Kalajdzic. Morrell won through scorecards of 117-111 twice, and 118-110.
  
  LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 3: David Morrell (white with red shorts) and Radivoje Kalajdzic (black shorts) during their WBA World Super Lightweight Title Contest at BMO Stadium on August 3, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing/Getty Images)
  
• The heavyweight match between American contender Jared Anderson (17-1, 15 KO’s) and Congolese contender Martin Bakole (21-1, 16 KO’s) saw a relative surprise occur as the less-rated Bakole came out on top through a KO in the 5th round of their 10-round match.
  
  Anderson suffered a knockdown in round one to already be put at a disadvantage and further proved unable to deal with the sheer power of Bakole’s punches. Having not developed any sort of adequate level of defensive responsibilities, Anderson found himself hammered throughout the five rounds, and suffered two more knockdowns in the 5th―with the last knockdown culminating in Anderson being stopped on his feet by the referee.
  
  
  LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 03: Jared Anderson (in blue short) from Toledo, Ohio and Martin Bakole (in black short) from Democratic Republic Of The Congo exchange punches during their WBO International heavyweight title of the Premiere Boxing Championship during Riyadh Season on Saturday night at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California United States on August 03, 2024. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
  
  Bakole won the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) and WBO International titles which had previously belonged to Anderson.
  
  
• At lightweight, Cuban contender Andy Cruz (4-2, 0 KO’s) continued his progression up the rankings against Mexican contender Antonio Moran (30-7-1, 21 KO’s), defeating him in the 7th round of their 10-round bout to retain his IBF International title.
  
  LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 3: Andy Cruz (purple shorts) and Antonio Moran (green shorts) during their IBF International and WBA Continental Latin American Lightweight Titles Contest, at BMO Stadium on August 3, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing/Getty Images)

Caroline Dubois Vs. Maira Moneo

Though British female lightweight (135 lbs) fighter Caroline Dubois (10-0, 5 KO’s) is acknowledged as the IBO champion, her first actual glimpse at a title occurred last Saturday on August 3rd as she faced off against Uruguayan contender Maira Moneo (14-2, 3 KO’s) for the vacant WBC interim title. The two fought in the co-main event of a BOXXER card at the Oakwell Football Ground in Barnsley, Yorkshire of the United Kingdom.

It was a showcase fight for Dubois who won almost every round according to the scorecards [100-89, 100,90 and 99-90], and also saw Dubois net a knockdown in the 6th round of their bout. Dubois further distinguished herself through her ability to cut off the ring well, culminating in Moneo adopting a defensive approach throughout the entire fight―though this meant Moneo struggled throughout as her defensive capabilities were not high enough to offset Dubois’ offense.

Following the 10 designated rounds, Dubois was announced the winner by UD, allowing her to retain her IBO title and net the WBC interim lightweight title.

Dubois grasp of the WBC interim title might culminate in her being elevated to full champion in the near future. Reigning WBC champion, Irishwoman Katie Taylor (23-1, 6 KO’s), is somehow still in grasp of her WBC [as well as the WBA] lightweight title despite her having been at the women’s super lightweight (140 lbs) division for roughly over a year. While Taylor has already vacated her WBO and IBF 135 lbs titles since defeating Chantelle Cameron (19-1, 8 KO’s) last November to become undisputed at 140 lbs, the fact she will engage in another fight at super lightweight come November 15th against Amanda Serrano (47-2-1, 31 KO’s) means she must forfeit the rest of her 135-pounds titles.