Israil Madrimov has had his say on the potential showdown between former opponent Terence Crawford and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
Madrimov was defeated by ‘Bud’ Crawford last August in a defence of his WBA light middleweight title. After a hard-fought 12-rounds for the 37-year-old American, he was declared the winner via unanimous decision, becoming a four-weight world champion in the process.
Crawford now turns his attention to Canelo, who currently holds the unified WBA, WBA and WBO super middleweight titles. The pound-for-pound stars appear to have finally agreed to face each other after months of rumours and speculation.
Speaking to Boxing News, Madrimov was asked to predict the mega-fight and gave his his former opponent little chance of jumping up a further two weight divisions to beat the Mexican, simply stating ‘Canelo will win’.
“It’s a very different weight class. Canelo will win. I think decision.”
The highly anticipated match-up is due to take place this September in Las Vegas, although an official announcement is yet to be made. Riyadh Season’s Turki Alalshikh was at the forefront of discussions between both fighters, as two of boxing’s biggest names finally lock horns later this year.
Madrimov is set to return to the ring himself next month when he faces WBC ‘interim’ light middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr on the undercard of the undisputed light heavyweight championship rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia.
The 29-year-old from Uzbekistan will be looking to get his career back on track after suffering the first defeat of his career to ‘Bud’ Crawford last year, but must overcome an in-form Ortiz who remains unbeaten in 22 professional contests.
