The blueprint to beat Crawford: How Madrimov’s performance against ‘Bud’ gave Canelo a winning strategy

Israil Madrimov created the blueprint on how to defeat Terence Crawford a year ago, bringing him down to Earth in front of a large crowd on August 3rd, 2024, in Los Angeles. What Madrimov created with that performance was a perfect plan on how to solve the Crawford puzzle that had confused 40 of his previous opponents.

Crawford’s Vulnerabilities Exposed by Madrimov

Although Crawford won a 12-round unanimous decision by the scores 116-112, 115-113, and 115-113, fans saw it as a victory or, at the minimum, a draw for Madrimov. It didn’t matter that the A-side fighter with all the backing, Crawford, won; the blueprint on how to defeat him had been created by Israil.

Canelo Alvarez and his trainer, Eddy Reynoso, have been studying Madrimov’s performance against Crawford, learning from the technical guru to come up with ideas to use for their September 13th fight in Las Vegas. There’s a lot Alvarez and the eagle-eyed Reynoso can get from the battle to use against Crawford.

Terence’s age, inactivity, and moving up in weight from 147 to 154 also played a small part in Madrimov’s exposing him. Mostly, the flaws in his game were revealed by the more technically skilled Eastern European fighter.

By the midpoint of that fight, Crawford looked lost. You could see the way he was speaking to his trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, in between rounds that he was desperate for answers. But none were forthcoming from BoMac, as he had no idea what to do.

After the sixth, BoMac said, ‘Just box him.’ That didn’t work because in the seventh, Madrimov nailed him with four consecutive right hands, one after another. Each punch snapped Crawford’s head back, making him resemble a bobblehead.

How Madrimov Solved the Crawford Puzzle

The former amateur star, Madrimov (10-2-1, 7 KOs) showed that Crawford (41-0, 31 kOs) can be beaten by pressure, feints, precise potshot punching. Bud is a counter-puncher who thrived on taking advantage of his opponents’ throwing combinations.

Madrimov didn’t do that. He focused on throwing single power shots to catch Crawford napping. Israil’s footwork also played a part in what many fans felt was a deserved victory. He kept Terence guessing with his movement, because he never knew when the Uzbekistan native would attack him.