Promoter Eddie Hearn said His Excellency Turki Alalshikh contacted him about adding former WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov to the undercard of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk II rematch on December 21 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) lost his WBA 154-lb title to Terence Crawford via a close 12-round unanimous decision on August 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Crawford won with the scores 115-113, 116-112 and 115-113.
High-profile return for Madrimov?
“His Excellency reached out to us and Madrimov and said: ‘I’d like you on the December 21st card. So hopefully that can happen, and to chase the big fights at 154,” said Eddie Hearn Fight Hub TV about His Excellency Turki Alalshikh wanting Israil Madrimov to fight on the undercard of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk II rematch on December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Matchroom-promoted Madrimov, 29, wants a rematch with 36-year-old Crawford to avenge his loss and regain his WBA 154lb title. It’s not going to happen because Crawford just wants Canelo, and he’s not going to take a risky rematch against a motivated, revenge-seeking Madrimov.
You can’t rule out Turki changing his mind by offering him a lot of money to fight Madrimov again, but it would have to be significant to get him a second time to face him. Madrimov made Crawford look old in that fight, and he would know what adjustments to make the second time around to defeat the Nebraska native.
The fight was won by Crawford, 36, in the championship rounds when he applied pressure to the defending Madrimov, showing the judges that he wanted it more.
He would have won if Madrimov had fought harder from rounds 9 to 12. With the right coaching for a rematch, Madrimov beat Crawford because he showed he had the physical tools and boxing skills to beat him. The missing ingredient was aggression and a willingness to go on the attack.
In an interview this week, Madrimov expressed the desire to fight for a world title against one of the champions. If he goes to fight on December 21, he may not have a chance to fight for a belt.
If Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis fails to get a unification fight, moving up to 154 and Madrimov would be an excellent option for December 21st. Madrimov wouldn’t need Crawford if he could fight Boots.
