Terence Crawford's Surprising Self-Assessment After Madrimov Bout: "I Didn't Expect That"

Terence Crawford has taken a fresh look at his recent fight against Israil Madrimov. The boxing champ watched the match again and formed a clear opinion on how he did.

Crawford stepped up to super-welterweight (154lbs) in August to challenge for the WBA title. He won by unanimous decision, making him a four-weight world champion. But some people weren't sure if he could be at his best in this new weight class.

After watching the fight again, Crawford thinks he did great. He told The Ring:

"I thought I looked wonderful in that fight. I re-watched it and thought I was sharp and controlling the action. The only thing he was doing was feinting and moving. He didn't try to engage."

Crawford noticed that Madrimov changed his usual style for this fight. He explained:

"He changed his whole style. I was training for a fighter to do certain things and he came out and did the complete opposite. That throws you off. I thought we'd collide and we didn't."

The fight turned into a chess match, with both fighters trying to counter each other. Crawford stayed patient and felt he controlled the action.

Some fans expected Crawford to blow Madrimov out of the water. When that didn't happen, questions came up. But Crawford's not bothered by the criticism anymore:

"People just thought, 'Terence Crawford didn't blow him out of the water.' Criticism used to bother me. I used to have a chip on my shoulder and get angry. Now I accept all criticism. It comes with the territory. It's just someone's opinion, but I think people didn't understand how good Madrimov was that night."

Crawford's had an amazing career so far. He's been champion in lightweight, super-lightweight, and welterweight. He even became undisputed champion in the last two divisions.

Now he's added the WBA super-welterweight title to his collection. Crawford hasn't said what's next, but it looks like he's made up his mind about fighting Sebastian Fundora. We'll have to wait and see what he decides to do.