The Terence Crawford vs Israil Madrimov card is done and dusted and so the question is what is next? For the winners many great opportunities lay ahead of them and their futures look bright. For the losers how will they come back and what will be next for them. All of which will be discussed down below.
Terence Crawford
To start off Terence Crawford beat the underrated Israil Madrimov to become a 4 weight world champion. This victory was very hard fought for Crawford who struggled an unusual amount this fight. It could be argued this struggle was due to Crawford getting up their in age being 36 or being inactive. However, the main factor that seemed to be the issue is the weight.
Crawford moving up now had to deal with a bigger opponent than he’s used to and someone who can take his power. One thing a lot of fighters struggle when moving up is their power carrying and now it’s happened to Crawford. Crawford’s punches don’t seem to have the same impact at 154 that they did at 147 only stunning Madrimov once in the fight.
So, this begs the question should Terence Crawford stay at 154 or even consider the Canelo fight? Well going off this performance many would advise against the Canelo fight given Crawford would have to move up even more. This would mean his punches would have even less impact and thus he wouldn’t be able to make a dent in Canelo. And if you can’t make a dent in Canelo then life becomes incredibly hard. A better idea would be for Crawford to stick to 154 and try to go for undisputed. However, he’ll likely encounter issues regarding size and power again. There’s also the option of moving back down but Crawford doesn’t seem interested.
In terms of fights at 154 the one that makes the most sense is the Fundora fight. Fundora currently holds the WBO and WBC belts and so beating Fundora would be a quick way to secure more belts. But, Fundora is tricky being very big and long for the weight class.
The Heavyweight Winners
Ruiz vs Miller ended in a draw so technically there was no winner. However, most believe that Miller should have got the decision and so Miller will be treated as the winner. For Miller there’s quite a few options as the heavyweight division is really heating up. A fight that many fans would be up for is re-booking AJ vs Miller particularly if AJ beats Dubois. The build up for their fight was the most riled up and angry Joshua seemed to get. However, Joshua may end up being pre-occupied by the winner of Usyk vs Fury 2 particularly if Fury wins.
A rematch with Ruiz is an option but given most people thought Miller won it does seem pointless. A match up against Anderson who lost to Bakole could be great fun. Or a Bakole fight could also be very viable and would be a great watch. The Kabayel fight would also be very intriguing.
For Martin Bakole his options are absolutely huge given the impressive nature of his win. Many are calling for Bakole to fight the top tier heavyweights and who can blame them. Bakole vs Zhang would be great and a fight against Parker would be very intriguing. If Bakole can get a couple more wins like that against the top of the division he’s on his way to securing himself a title shot. Bakole did express interest in a Michael Hunter rematch given it’s his only lost but given that Hunter has looked awful and hasn’t done much at heavyweight that fight isn’t really intriguing.
Other Big Winners
Jose Valenzuela also became WBA super champion on the Crawford vs Madrimov card. There have been 2 other recently crowned champions at 140lbs that Valenzuela could fight. Liam Paro has defeated Subriel Matias in an upset for the IBF title and Alberto Puello was elevated to WBC champ. So, either of those would make sense but the Paro fight could be better for Jose. This because Paro beat the boogeyman of the division Matias so a win over Paro could be better for his resume.
David Morrell became regular WBA champ in his move to 175lbs and looked good. However, his performance did have flaws Morrell being open to being hit and struggling with the movement of Kalajdzic. Well with this win he’ll be Bivol’s mandatory however Bivol is tied up with Beterebiev. Also, at this point Morrell doesn’t seem ready for Bivol. So, a fight that would make sense is Morrell vs Benavidez.
Both pursued Canelo but were ducked and so moved up to 175lbs. Both are young talented contenders and their styles would make for a great fight. And considering 175 is a relatively empty division and both men will have to wait for the winner of Bivol vs Beterbiev so why not fight each other. This allows both men to settle more into 175 and create a clear number 1 contender.
Andy Cruz overcame some adversity to secure another defence of his IBF international title. A fight that many are curious to see for Cruz is the Keyshawn Davis fight. Cruz and Davis fought four times in the amateurs and Cruz won each time. And given their both pros on the rise another fight could be fun.
The future looks bright for the winners of this card and we shall see what’s in store for them.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
