Kicking off the fight week for their world title fight, Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov made their Grand Arrivals. The pair squares on August 3 live on PPV from BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Omaha’s three-division world champion Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) moves up a weight class and looks to conquer a new division. A newly crowned WBA light middleweight champion Israil Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) of Uzbekistan makes the first defense of his belt.
“I feel good, I’m feeling great,” Terence Crawford said from Santa Monica Pier in LA. “I’m ready to fight but all my people always try to remind me to enjoy the moment because one day it’s all going to be gone, so embrace it while you can.
“Like I always say everything happens for a reason and for that reason God didn’t bless me then, but he blessed me now when I’m more mature and can handle everything that comes my way. Who knows where I would have been had I got everything that I wanted when he was younger and immature.”
Israil Madrimov said: “I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment and we are here and just waiting for Saturday where I want a victory. I like this moment and the first time in my life and only imagined something like this would happen to me.
“Our training has been good and I’m feeling great. I want to make a good game plan and it will be a great fight on Saturday. I don’t think this fight is about the size, it’s about the experience and knowledge he can use. This division is my division and I’m the champion, I have to defend the belt.”
In the co-main event, Isaac Cruz defends his WBA super lightweight belt in an all-Mexican bout against Jose Valenzuela. Among the Crawford vs Madrimov undercard bouts, former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr of Imperial, California faces Jarrell Miller of Brooklyn, New York. Plus, Toledo’s Jared Anderson and Martin Bakole of Congo clash at heavyweight.