Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov official; Isaac Cruz, Andy Ruiz Jr. on undercard
Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov is official.
Crawford, the 147-pound champion and pound-for-pound king, will be moving up in weight to challenge the WBA 154-pound beltholder on Aug. 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, it was formally announced on Wednesday.
The lead promoter is Riyadh Season, which will be presenting its first event outside of Saudi Arabia.
Terence Crawford vs Israil Madrimov first face-off ahead of Aug 3rd in LA…
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“We are delighted for Riyadh Season to host its first overseas event in Los Angeles, and this fight in the United States is a special one to mark this moment,” said His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority.
“We want to give people around the world the opportunity to enjoy their own Riyadh Season experience, and this is exactly what we hope to achieve by staging this and also future events around the world.”
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) already has won world titles at 135, 140 and 147, meaning he will be attempting to win a major belt in a fourth division.
The 36-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska, hasn’t fought since his sensational seventh-round stoppage of fellow pound-for-pounder Errol Spence Jr. in a 147-pound title-unification bout last July 29. He retains three of the four welterweight belts at the moment.
“I cannot wait to get back in the ring in my fourth weight class and remind the world why I’m the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world,” Crawford said. “Israil Madrimov is a tremendous and entertaining fighter, but on August 3, he will be my next victim. This is the Terence Crawford era.”
Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) won the vacant WBA title – which opened up when Jermell Charlo fought Canelo Alvarez and was designated “champion in recess” – by stopping Magomed Kurbanov in five rounds on March 8.
The California-based Uzbek is thrilled to face the best in the business.
“Terence Crawford is one of my favorite boxers and one of the best boxers in the world,” he said. “I am very excited to get this opportunity to make a statement, and I will, Inshallah.”
The undercard features a number of well-known fighters. Here’s the lineup:
- Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz vs. Jose Valenzuela, junior welterweights (for Cruz’s WBA title)
- Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Jarrell Miller, heavyweights
- David Morrell vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic, light heavyweights
- Andy Cruz vs. Antonio Moran, lightweights
Isaac Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) is coming off his sensational eighth-round knockout of Rolando Romero to win his belt on March 30.
Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) is returning to the ring for the first time since September 2022, when the former champion put Luis Ortiz down three times and won a unanimous decision.