Israil Madrimov was the last man to fight Terence Crawford.
The two men met in Los Angeles in August 2023, in what was Crawford’s 154lb debut after cleaning out the welterweight division and being crowned undisputed champion.
His success at 147lbs came after also becoming undisputed at super-lightweight, with a world title reign at lightweight meaning that ‘Bud’ headed up to super-welterweight looking to claim world honours in a fourth division.
His fight with Madrimov was a close affair, with a lot of boxing fans surprised at how competitive the action was, but in the end the American was able to claim a unanimous decision verdict to win the WBA super-welterweight title.
While the fight may have gone the distance, Madrimov’s face was visibly marked up at the conclusion of the bout, and he revealed to K.O Artist Sports just whether ‘Bud’ was the hardest hitter he had fought in his career so far.
“He’s a great boxer. He has other tools than power. Power wise he’s not the biggest puncher that I’ve faced, there are guys that hit harder. He has different tools. It’s a package. It’s hard to say, power wise definitely there are guys that hit harder.”
Madrimov had previously fought the likes of Magomed Kurbanov and Michel Soro before Crawford, and returns to action this Saturday to take on Vergil Ortiz, another man that is widely regarded as being one of the biggest punchers in the division.
As for Crawford, he will return in September for a showdown against Canelo Alvarez, moving up two weight divisions to 168lbs, and based on Madrimov’s comments, it seems that ‘Bud’ may have to rely on his boxing ability rather than his power to get the victory.
