Terence “Bud” Crawford was one of those special fighters in boxing who looked almost super human, he would get wobbled but recover and if you hurt him he would turn into a monster and unleash a counter attack to get payback. Crawford was a throwback fighter who looked untouchable at welterweight.
Last night when he went up to 154 pounds after vacating his undisputed welterweight titles to challenge WBA light middleweight champion Israil Madrimov, he looked just like a mere mortal, a decent boxer but nothing special like the the Crawford we were used to seeing.
Either his age caught up to him, or he just capped out at 147 pounds and 154 pounds was just too much for him.
After all there are weight classes in boxing for a reason, a fighter can only go up so many divisions before his power is no longer intimidating and his rehydration size is no longer an advantage.
Crawford was getting hit a lot and he couldn’t get the timing of Madrimov down, the ability to adjust in a fight was something Crawford was known for, but against the flat footed champion like Madrimov he couldn’t find his target.
Madrimov used a lot of feints but didn’t really throw much either, it was more of I feint you and see if you take the bait type tactic. The sad part of this event was it was one of the biggest of Crawford’s career. They really put on a show with thousands of fans and A-list celebrities in attendance at the BMO stadium in Los Angeles.
People tuned in to see the man who destroyed Errol Spence Jr. and unified all the belts at welterweight, but Crawford couldn’t hurt or use his strength to control Madrimov. It was as if Crawford finally met a person who was just as strong or stronger than he was.
The only option I see is for Crawford to rematch Errol Spence in Saudi Arabia, get the win and call it a day. He has already achieved everything in boxing and once you get into your mid 30’s father time starts to kick in, and you can’t react or counter with quickness like when you were younger. Crawford could see the openings but he couldn’t move it was like he was stuck in quicksand, this is a sign when a fighter is already past their prime when they get hit a lot and can’t pull the trigger.
I don’t think it would be wise for Crawford to go up to 165 pounds or 168 pounds to challenge Canelo Alvarez. Crawford’s power didn’t move up with him to 154 pounds, he couldn’t rock or wobble Madrimov. Canelo is a short and stocky guy who has an iron chin and heavy hands, with excellent slip game similar to James Toney. If Madrimov was able to hit and swell up Crawford, imagine what a top tier fighter like Canelo would do?
Crawford might just fight Canelo for the payday, its life changing money, but is it worth it if he gets badly hurt and loses by knockout giving haters fuel to discredit his legacy?
I am an avid fan of boxing and video games. My first fight of memory was watching Prince Naseem Hamed destroy Kevin Kelly. I enjoy all aspects of the sport. My favorite current boxer is Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. My favorite boxing match is Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo 1. I love watching boxing on Pay-Per-View more than being there live because you can really enjoy and watch the action from the best view.