Terence Crawford had to dig deep to beat this undefeated fighter last year.
The former undisputed welterweight champion went up a weight division to test himself and set up his much-anticipated Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez clash.
‘Bud’ has not fought since August 3rd and has instead been piling on the pounds for the clash because Crawford’s trainer confirmed there is no rehydration clause for the Alvarez fight.
If he can win against the Mexican, he will have won titles across six weight divisions, which is more than Floyd Mayweather.
As the second pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, he solidified his position as one of the best by becoming the WBA super-welterweight champion against a puzzling fighter.
Terence Crawford beat an undefeated Olympian in a difficult fight to set up the Canelo Alvarez clash
Headlining the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, the then 35-year-old displayed his boxing skills in front of an adoring American crowd, but it was not an easy night’s work.
The Omaha fighter took on the undefeated Olympian Israil Madrimov, whose constant feints and movement produced some different questions for the elite boxer.
He set his stall out early with a focus on the body of Madrimov as he anticipated the head being a much harder target to pin down.
Hooks to the body were effective, but in the early rounds when the two traded, ‘The Dream’ was able to sneak in a right hand or two through the southpaw guard.
Crawford took control when he used his footwork to constantly move away from his opponent to prevent him from planting his feet to let the shots off.
His long jab kept his man at bay, but even on the inside, he found success, especially in the later rounds, with a stiff uppercut.
Israil was no match for the star in the end as all three judges scored the contest in favour of the four-division great (115-113, 115-113, and 116-112)
Terence Crawford outlanded Israil Madrimov in seven out of ten rounds to bag a seven-figure purse
It was the numbers that told the story of the bout with CompuBox detailing that the victor outlanded his opponent in seven out of ten rounds.
Furthermore, he outlanded his foe to the body by 11 punches, but his overall connect percentage was lower than the then 29-year-old (30.5%).
Not only did this facilitate the opportunity to finally get his Alvarez showdown, it also raked in a huge million-dollar purse.
A sum of $2.5 million was the spoils for his 12-round chess match, but it will more than likely pale in comparison to a likely eye-watering paycheck on September 13th.