Terence Crawford kept his unbeaten record intact with a close decision win over Israil Madrimov. The fight marked Crawford's return to the ring after more than a year away and his debut at 154 pounds.
Crawford's eleven-fight knockout streak came to an end as he faced tough opposition in Madrimov. The judges scored the bout 116-112 and 115-113 twice in Crawford's favor, ending a closely contested battle.
Eddie Hearn, Madrimov's promoter, didn't hide his frustration with the outcome. He felt the scorecards didn't reflect the fight he saw.
"Yeah I was a little bit frustrated at the end, I though it was actually two 116-112's and I don't understand how you can only give Madrimov four rounds in that fight. 115-133 is a close fight, after ten rounds I was convinced we were up and it's an argument as to whether Crawford won the eleventh, he definitely won the twelfth."
Hearn's observations from ringside gave him a unique perspective on the fight's progression. He noticed Crawford's corner stressing the importance of winning the final round, suggesting they felt the fight was closer than the official scorecards indicated.
"You saw the way he came out for the twelfth, because they told him, I was right by his corner, they knew he they had to win that last round, they knew how close that fight was and I was just a bit frustrated that it wasn't a split or we didn't get a little bit more respect, one of the judges has Crawford winning the last four rounds and the first four rounds and I just don't see that, I thought Madrimov wont he fight 7-5."
Crawford's win at 154 pounds opens up new possibilities for his career. There's talk of a potential matchup with Vergil Ortiz, with Turki Alalshikh showing interest in making the fight happen.
This close victory proves Crawford can handle himself in a higher weight class, but also shows he's not invincible. It sets the stage for more exciting matchups in the future as he continues to test himself against top competition.
