Terence Crawford moves up to junior middleweight to challenge WBA champion Israil Madrimov on Saturday, Aug. 3, at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. (ESPN+ PPV). The WBO interim title will also be on the line.
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs), of Omaha, Nebraska, is a two-division undisputed champion, a feat accomplished by only two other men boxers (Naoya Inoue and Oleksandr Usyk). Crawford is coming off an impressive performance against Errol Spence Jr. in July 2023. In that fight, Crawford dropped Spence three times to eventually score a ninth-round TKO win at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to unify all four major welterweight world titles.
Crawford, 36, is ESPN’s No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter and the top welterweight fighter.
Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs), of Khiva, Uzbekistan, won the title by defeating Magomed Kurbanov by fifth-round TKO back in March, on the Anthony Joshua-Francis Ngannou undercard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Madrimov, 29, is a decorated amateur fighter with almost 100 fights. He turned pro in 2018 and has notable victories over Raphael Igbokwe and Michel Soro.
Also on the card, heavyweight Jared Anderson steps up in competition to face Martin Bakole in a 10-round battle of power punchers. Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs), of Toledo, Ohio, is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Ryad Merhy back in April. He’s consider the “next” American heavyweight.
Bakole (20-1, 15 KOs), of Kananga, Democratic Republic of the Congo, has won nine consecutive fights — seven by stoppage — since suffering the only loss of his career, a decision against Michael Hunter in October 2018.
Two other title fights are scheduled for the undercard. WBA junior welterweight champion Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs), of Mexico City, takes on Jose Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KOs), of Sinaloa, Mexico, in a 12-round battle. And David Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs), of Santa Clara, Cuba, and Radivoje Kalajdzic (29-2, 21 KOs), of Belgrade, Serbia, will fight for the WBA vacant “regular” light heavyweight title.
Former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. (35-2, 22 KOs), of Imperial, California, faces Jarrell Miller (26-1-1, 22 KOs), of New York in a 10-round bout. To start the event, 2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz (3-0, 1 KO), of Matanzas, Cuba, takes on veteran Antonio Moran (30-6-1, 21 KOs), of Mexico City, in a 10-round fight.
Where can I watch the Crawford-Madrimov fight card on Aug. 3?
The Crawford-Madrimov main card broadcast will air on ESPN+ pay-per-view. The pay-per-view card includes six fights.
Buy the Crawford-Madrimov fight on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
Full card:
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Title fight: Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov, 12 rounds, for Madrimov’s WBA “super” junior middleweight title
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Andy Ruiz vs. Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, 10 rounds, heavyweight
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Title fight: Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz vs. Jose Valenzuela, 12 rounds, for Cruz’s WBA junior welterweight title
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Title fight: David Morrell vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic, 12 rounds, for the WBA vacant “regular” light heavyweight title
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Jared Anderson vs. Martin Bakole, 10 rounds, heavyweight
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Andy Cruz vs. Antonio Moran, 10 rounds, lightweight