Saudi boxing dips a toe into the American market this Saturday night with pound-for-pounder Terrence Crawford and Israil Madrimov headlining. Madrimov is not an ideal ‘B’ side for Bud but he’s a solid boxer and the undercard is filled with intriguing matchups.
The ticket prices have been drastically decreased and never should’ve been that expensive. That said, the PPV on paper gives fans a bang for their buck, given the depth of the card. Let’s do a quick preview and predict the top-5 fights streaming live on DAZN and ESPN+ PPV.
Crawford vs. Madrimov: Bud is moving up to junior welterweight, so we will see if his power translates like it has in the other three divisions he’s conquered. Like many prospects, it took a little while for Madrimov to get those amateur habits out of his system.
In his last few outings, he’s taken the next step, fighting with a pro-style. Regardless, if Crawford holds that same power, he will have plenty of pop to earn Israil’s respect. The bottom line is that the difference in skill level will begin to show up after two or three feel-out rounds. Bud has too many paths to victory for Madrimov to overcome.
My official prediction is that it will be Terence Crawford by Late Stoppage.
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Isaac Cruz vs. Jose Valenzuela: Fresh off his destructive victory over Rollie Romero, Isaac Cruz faces an underrated foe in Jose Valenzuela. Cruz has been inconsistent from fight to fight and tends to have more success versus shorter fighters. ‘Rayo’ has the counterpunching ability to give ‘Pitbull’ fits as long as he uses the whole ring. When the time is right, going toe to toe and exchanging punches in spots is fine. Jose doesn’t want to trade bombs for too long; otherwise, he will get dropped.
This fight comes down to if Valenzuela can stay disciplined for all 12 rounds. Another question, will Jose’s chin hold up when those overhand shots find a home? This boxing podcaster leans Pitbull but will put down some doe on that +300 for Rayo and sprinkle the knockout.
My Official Prediction is Isaac Cruz by Split-Decision
Jared Anderson vs. Martin Bakole: Once Vergil Ortiz vs. Tim Tzsyu was removed from the card, this one takes the cake as far as a 50-50 scrap. Anderson was on a knockout streak until he met up with Charles Martin. He was hurt twice in that fight, and Saturday will tell us more about Jared’s ceiling. Bakole lost to Michael Hunter in 2018 but has since had a few good performances. This boxing junkie believes this is a coin-toss result. I’m picking Bakole in a highly competitive back-and-forth affair. Bakole is sitting around a +150 to +175 for those thinking about a slight upset. It’s fair to mention that Bakole didn’t look all that great on the scale.
My Official Prediction is Martin Bakole by Majority-Decision
David Morrell vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic: First, being from the city that David Morrell calls his adopted hometown of Minneapolis makes me somewhat biased. Kalajdzic is a solid boxer who has pushed contender-level boxers at light heavyweight. ‘Hot Rod’ lost to Artur Beterbiev, but some folks believed he did enough to get the decision over Marcus Browne. Morrell has reached the 12th round in two separate bouts. Kalajdzic has what it takes to make the Cuban work for however long this goes. It’s something he needs before getting a big opportunity.
My official prediction is that of David Morrell by Late Knockout.
Andy Ruiz vs. Jarrell Miller: If this bout took place earlier in their careers, Andy Ruiz would get his hand raised due to hand speed and power. We will never really know how good Jarrell Miller is or if it was because of the multiple substances found in his system from a failed test. Jarrell will bring the heat all night long if he’s in shape, which it seems like he took his training camp seriously. Ruiz looks in good shape, relatively speaking, but time out of the ring may be his downfall. In recent years many quality fighters coming off long breaks look like crap fight night. Another troubling factor was that Andy didn’t look all that impressive against Luis Ortiz and Cristobal Arreola when he was in the ring.
My Official Prediction is Andy Ruiz by Unanimous Decision.
Side Note: Also on the undercard is prospect Andy Cruz taking on Antonio Moran and Steven Nelson vs. Marcos Vasquez Rodriguez.
Written by Chris Carlson, Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast Available at www.blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio
