Sounding like he’s got a chip on his shoulder, Terence Crawford said he wants to prove the naysayers wrong who think he’s old going into his fight that Saturday night against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Crawford’s Age and Ring Rust in the Spotlight
During today’s media workout, the 36-year-old Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) to the media that he’s taking Madrimov’s WBA 154-lb belt on Saturday night in their headliner on DAZN PPV.
There are a lot of questions about whether Crawford will have gotten old overnight since his last fight against Errol Spence last year in July 2023.
Crawford has been out of the ring for 13 months, and he’s not fought a killer in the past anywhere close to Madrimov at any point in his 16-year professional career.
Given all that’s going against the Omaha, Nebraska native Crawford, including age, inactivity, and less-than-stellar opposition, he might fall apart on Saturday night when he gets in with the athletic 29-year-old Madrimov, who looked like a gymnast during today’s workout.
Past Success No Guarantee of Future Glory
Chris Mannix: “Everyone knows how good Terence Crawford is. What is the one thing you have to do to beat him?”
Israil Madrimov: “I only think about the victory, and I’ll show everything I have inside the ring.”
Chris Mannix: “Bud, you’re no stranger for big events. What do you think of this event so far? The first fight at 154. How do you feel carrying that extra weight?”
Terence Crawford: “I feel great. Come Saturday, I got a treat for y’all.”
Mannix: “You said Madrimov is the best at 154. What kind of fight are you expecting from him?”
Crawford: “I’m expecting him to come out and try to do everything he can to try and dehrone me. This is the Terence Crawford era and I’m taking that belt.”
Mannix: “You’re going to be 37 in a couple of months [September 28]. You’re still fighting as well as you have before. You’re a first-ballot Hall of Famer whenever your career ends. What keeps you motivated to keep going in these types of events?”
Crawford’s Fixation on Naysayers
Crawford: “The naysayers, the ones like you that say I’m old. I feel great. I never smoked and never drank. So my body is well preserved. I’m just so competitive. When I think I reached my ceiling, there’s always that extra push to do something I’ve never done before.”
Mannix: “The number of naysayers probably dwindled a lot in the last year.”
Crawford: “I don’t care.”
“Sometimes, when you have scary talent, you’re avoided. That’s just the case in boxing and part of being a skilled fighter,” said commentator Sergio Mora. “This is a man who has been in his prime for the last ten years.”
