L.A. Season: Grading the Crawford-Madrimov PPV matchups
The following article appears in the July 2024 issue of The Ring, live now (and free to view). Be sure to download the Ring Magazine App if you haven’t already done so (and turn on notifications!) WITH TSZYU VS. ORTIZ SCRUBBED, IS THE AUGUST 3 CARD HEADLINED BY ISRAIL MADRIMOV VS. TERENCE CRAWFORD STILL PPV-WORTHY? […]
The post L.A. Season: Grading the Crawford-Madrimov PPV matchups appeared first on The Ring.
The following article appears in the July 2024 issue of The Ring, live now (and free to view). Be sure to download the Ring Magazine App if you haven’t already done so (and turn on notifications!)
WITH TSZYU VS. ORTIZ SCRUBBED, IS THE AUGUST 3 CARD HEADLINED BY ISRAIL MADRIMOV VS. TERENCE CRAWFORD STILL PPV-WORTHY?
Turki Alalshikh, a Saudi Royal Court member and chairman of his country’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA), first got involved in boxing with the Tyson Fury vs. Frances Ngannou bout last October. Since then, he has organized several entertaining, well-received fight cards in Saudi Arabia. Heavyweights have been a key feature in most of the events, and all the shows have been held in the Saudi capital as part of “Riyadh Season” thus far.
Now, for the first time, Alalshikh is taking the show on the road. Los Angeles, California, to be exact.
On August 3, fighters represented by multiple promoters will square off at BMO Stadium (formally Banc of California Stadium) in L.A. The PPV card will be headlined by Terence Crawford challenging Israil Madrimov in a junior middleweight title bout.
Tim Tszyu was originally set to face Vergil Ortiz on the card as well, but the Australian star suffered a bad cut in his March loss to Sebastian Fundora and required several stitches to heal the wound. His doctors would not clear him to spar in time to face Ortiz, so that match had to be pulled from the show.
Although the removal of the Tszyu-Ortiz fight hurt the event, and while none of the remaining fights are worthy of carrying a pay-per-view event on their own, the collective value of the show remains solid.
Let’s take a detailed look at the card, which features six interesting bouts on the live PPV broadcast. We’ll preview the fights and grade them on their market relevance, style matchup, competitiveness and overall PPV worthiness.
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov, 12 rounds, 154 pounds
Fans are eager to see the return of Terence “Bud” Crawford, who hasn’t been in the ring since destroying Errol Spence to become the undisputed welterweight champion last July in Las Vegas. Spence wanted a rematch but had to get cataract surgery early this year. Now Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) will move up in weight to face Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs), who is making the first defense of his WBA junior middleweight title. The WBO is also putting their vacant “interim” title on the line.
Neither fighter has been very active in recent years. Madrimov has fought just three times since 2021, and Crawford only twice. But that is about all these fighters have in common.
Bud has seen and done it all in boxing, while Madrimov will be making a seismic leap in opposition on August 3. The Uzbekistan native, who now lives and trains in Southern California, last fought in March on the Zhilei Zhang vs. Joseph Parker card in Riyadh. Although he has fought his entire career at junior middleweight, Madrimov isn’t necessarily the bigger man in this matchup. Both men are listed at 5-foot-8 in height, and Crawford has the longer reach. Don’t be surprised when the Omaha, Nebraska, native, who began his career as a lightweight, is able to get physical with Madrimov and push him back after making some early adjustments.
The oddsmakers have made it clear they believe experience will win the day. Crawford is currently a -700 favorite and Madrimov a +450 underdog on DraftKings.
GRADES:
Relevance: B
Style matchup: B
Competitiveness: B
PPV worthiness: C
(Photos: Amanda Westcott (L), Tom Casino (R))
David Morrell vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic, 12 rounds, 175 pounds
Cuba native Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs), who now fights out of Minneapolis, will be moving up in weight to face Kalajdzic, a career light heavyweight. Kalajdzic (29-2, 21 KOs) went pro in 2011 and has fought mostly novice level opposition. The Florida-based Serbian has lost every time he stepped up as a pro. He was destroyed over five rounds in a 2019 title challenge against Artur Beterbiev.
Despite the gross mismatch on paper and the fact that Dmitry Bivol has held the WBA light heavyweight title for years, the sanctioning organization is putting their vacant “regular” title on the line for this fight.
The oddsmakers like the Cuban southpaw to win big. Morrell is currently listed as a -4000 favorite on DraftKings.
GRADES:
Relevance: C
Style matchup: C
Competitiveness: D
PPV worthiness: C
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Isaac Cruz vs. Jose Valenzuela, 12 rounds, 140 pounds
Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) is mostly known for coming up short against Gervonta Davis in a competitive 2021 lightweight title bout (also in Los Angeles). This will be the second fight at 140 pounds for the Mexico City native, who is 4-0 since the Davis loss. His most recent bout was in March, where he stopped Rolando Romero (another Davis victim) to claim the WBA 140-pound belt.
Meanwhile, Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KOs), who stands six inches taller than Cruz and has a much longer reach, will be making his junior welterweight debut. The southpaw was born in Mexico and has lived in the Seattle area since he was four years old. Valenzuela is coming off an upset sixth-round stoppage win over Chris Colbert last December. Other than that, his most notable win was against an ancient Francisco Vargas a couple years ago.
Cruz is currently listed as a -550 favorite on DraftKings.
GRADES:
Relevance: C
Style matchup: B
Competitiveness: B
PPV worthiness: B
(Photos: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images (inset), Will Newton/Getty Images (R))
Andy Cruz vs. Antonio Moran, 10 rounds, 135 pounds
Cruz debuted as a pro last July and has quickly built a 3-0 record (1 KO). The Cuban native was a very accomplished amateur, winning three world championships and a gold medal in the 2020 Olympic games. He has a lot of fans excited about his potential as he prepares for his most experienced professional opponent to date.
Moran (30-6-1, 21 KOs) has some notable names on his resume but has lost every time he stepped up. However, despite suffering multiple losses, Devin Haney is the only fighter to ever stop the Mexico City native.
Oddsmakers see this fight as a one-sided showcase for Cruz, who is currently listed as a -2500 favorite on DraftKings.
GRADES:
Relevance: C
Style matchup: B
Competitiveness: D
PPV worthiness: C
Jared Anderson vs. Martin Bakole, 10 rounds, heavyweights
Toledo, Ohio, native Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) has excited American fight fans since he went pro five years ago. Unlike other recent American heavyweights who came to boxing late after competing in other sports, Anderson began boxing in his youth. However, his recent legal troubles (he’s been arrested multiple times on different charges) have many wondering if he has the mental fortitude to match his physical potential.
Bakole (20-1, 15 KOs) is a mountain of a man, standing 6-foot-6 and weighing nearly 300 pounds in recent fights. The Congo native, who now calls Scotland home, is the younger brother of former cruiserweight title holder Ilunga Makabu. He is known by most western boxing fans for handing 2016 Olympic gold medalist Tony Yoka his first pro defeat two years ago. Now he faces his toughest test yet against the undefeated American.
Bakole’s lone defeat was a 2018 loss to Michael Hunter, where he was stopped in the closing seconds of a highly entertaining heavyweight fight. Since then, he is 9-0 (7 KOs), having fought in five different countries over that span. He will be making his American debut against Anderson, who is currently listed as a -195 favorite on DraftKings.
GRADES:
Relevance: B
Style matchup: B
Competitiveness: B
PPV worthiness: B
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Andy Ruiz vs. Jarrell Miller, 10 rounds, heavyweights
This matchup is a battle of underachieving big, big, big men with a history of weight issues, inconsistencies and more.
Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) has fought just twice since 2019, and not at all last year. Despite the inactivity, the southern California native is still viewed as a viable, marketable heavyweight who remains in the mix. His 15 minutes of fame came in June 2019, when he was a late replacement to face unified titleholder Anthony Joshua in New York. After getting knocked down in the third round, Ruiz came storming back to stop the previously undefeated Joshua, scoring one of the biggest upsets of the century. Just six months after punching his lottery ticket, Ruiz was dominated by a fully prepared Joshua in an uneventful rematch.
Brooklyn native Miller (26-1-1, 22 KOs) suffered his first loss as a pro last December. He got beat up and stopped in the closing seconds by Daniel Dubois on the Joshua-Wallin undercard in Riyadh. The following month, he was arrested in Florida for an alleged carjacking. But that was hardly the first time Miller had faced issues outside of the ring.
He was Anthony Joshua’s original opponent for June 2019, but Miller tested positive for multiple PEDs and was pulled from the card. The following year he tested positive for banned substances again and was suspended. From 2019 through 2021, Miller did not fight at all. Then there are the weight issues. Miller has weighed well above 300 pounds for his last seven bouts.
Despite his history of using PEDs, legal troubles, weight issues, and his poor showing against Dubois, Miller finds himself with yet another massive opportunity against Ruiz.
On the surface, Ruiz should be a big favorite. But due to his own weight issues and inconsistent performances, the oddsmakers see this as a close fight. Ruiz is currently listed as a -300 favorite on DraftKings.
GRADES:
Relevance: C
Style matchup: A
Competitiveness: B
PPV worthiness: C
Once again, Turki Alalshikh has put together a loaded fight card that, while it may not have any blockbuster rivalries, still feels “worth the money.” The show looks more like a typical stacked UFC PPV lineup than most boxing PPVs these days.
Los Angeles fight fans in particular are excited for this event. Crawford, currently ranked No. 3 pound-for-pound by The Ring, will be fighting in California for the first time. The L.A. area had been a hotspot for frequent major shows in recent years, but things slowed down after the COVID outbreak. Now, the City of Angels will feel like a bigtime fight town again on August 3, all thanks to “His Excellency.”
Michael Montero can be found on social media via @MonteroOnBoxing. His show “The Neutral Corner” can be seen every Monday on YouTube and heard on audio podcast platforms around the world.
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The post L.A. Season: Grading the Crawford-Madrimov PPV matchups appeared first on The Ring.