TNT Sports expert Richie Woodhall believes that Terence Crawford is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the history of boxing ahead of his upcoming bout against Israil Madrimov. Crawford, who is 40-0, takes on the Uzbek for the WBA super-welterweight titles at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California, which will be broadcast live on TNT Sports Box Office and discovery+.
Terence Crawford celebrates with his championship belts after defeating Errol Spence Jr. in the World Welterweight Championship bout at T-Mobile Arena on July 29, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Image credit: Getty Images
TNT Sports expert Richie Woodhall has labelled Terence Crawford as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in boxing history.
Crawford, who is 40-0 in his illustrious career, takes on Israil Madrimov at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California this weekend, with the bout being shown live on TNT Sports Box Office and
‘Bud’ is now going for the WBA super welterweight championship, having already completely cleaned up in two weight classes to become undisputed. He also has world honours in a third category.
Crawford returns to the ring over a year since his last fight, where he dominated rival Errol Spence Jr. at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, winning via TKO in the ninth round.
Woodhall, the TNT Sports commentator and former WBC super middleweight champion, believes that Crawford’s name belongs in the same conversation as boxing’s greats.
Alongside him, Woodhall places another current superstar in Oleksandr Usyk, who has also gone undisputed at both heavyweight and cruiserweight.
- [Crawford is] probably the most natural ambidextrous fighter I’ve ever seen. You can’t tell whether he’s orthodox or southpaw,” Woodhall said.
“He’s one of the best all-rounders I’ve ever seen in a boxing ring. The only thing I would say is he hasn’t quite had the opposition like a Marvin Hagler or a Sugar Ray Leonard. All a man can do is beat what’s in front of him and he’s done that in two divisions.
“In history, I think he’s right up there with the very best. He’s undisputed. It’s an incredible situation now. Two undisputed champions in two weight divisions – it just doesn’t get any better than that.
“You have two boxers [Crawford and Usyk] who are up there, best pound-for-pound in the history of the sport.”
TNT Sports expert Steve Bunce believes that Crawford can embody more than one fighter every time he steps into the ring, such is the variety of his skillset.
“He’s not just one fighter, he’s multiple fighters. We’ve seen him in different fights where he’s seemed like a different boxer. He’s flawless; he really is. He makes really good fighters look really average.
“Is Terence Crawford the best pound-for-pound fighter right now? There’s a case to say he is. The only man in my opinion that can compete with him might be Oleksandr Usyk.
“Usyk had a great victory last time out. He beat the unbeaten [Tyson Fury], considered the greatest heavyweight in the world. The same with Crawford, last time out, he beat the great welterweight Errol Spence. They’ve beaten them handily.”
Meanwhile, Frank Warren, head of Queensberry Promotions, said that, in his mind, Crawford was “probably the No. 1 or No. 2 best fighter in the world.
“Terence Crawford is an exceptional fighter,” Warren said. “It’s a combination of ability, versatility, and the most important thing, adaptability.
“He can finish you with either hand, he can finish you going backwards, and he can finish you going forwards.”
Crawford’s best performance of his long career came against Spence last July, in which ‘Bud’ knocked down his opponent three times – once in round two, and twice in round seven before the bout was stopped in the ninth.
“Spence was 28-0 at the time,” Bunce explained. “He was the man in that welterweight division, [but] here was a fighter [Crawford] in there that night, who I think would have been able to compete with any welterweight in history.
“Poor Errol Spence, not only was he beaten, but he was ruined in there. That breaks your mind. It breaks your spirit, not just physical hurt, but hurt inside.”
Woodhall, meanwhile, said of the performance: “Each round, he just turned the screw a bit more and it was an absolute masterclass. He made it look easy and it was quite incredible.”
Bunce, Woodhall, and Warren are all backing Crawford to extend his unbeaten record on Saturday to beat Madrimov, and hand the Uzbek the first loss of his professional career.
“I fancy Terence but I’m telling you, it’s going to be an interesting, exciting fight. I expect something a little bit special on the night,” Warren said, while Bunce believes that the American has all the experience that his opponent does not.
“I don’t think Israil Madrimov is a fight too far for Crawford,” Bunce said. “He’s got the fight quite early; he’s not that seasoned. He’s a novice as a pro. That’s what Crawford isn’t.”
Woodhall believes that the fight might have come a bit soon for Madrimov, but were Crawford to win, a potential bout against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez could be too difficult a test, even for the seemingly-invincible American.
“It’ll probably be a step too early for Israil,” Woodhall concluded. “I think Crawford will be able to handle him.
“He’s looking to become undisputed in three weight divisions and this is that next step. The real prize at the end of it all may be a Canelo fight. I think that would be a step too far.”
Warren believes that, should Crawford beat Madrimov, then an encounter with Canelo would be what all boxing fans want to see next.
“Crawford and Canelo is a fight that everyone wants to see,” the promoter added. “If anybody can make it happen, it’s His Excellency in the Riyadh Season.”
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