Terence Crawford’s performance against Israil Madrimov has been a source of disappointment for many.
The scorecards had it as a close fight, with Crawford (41-0-0) narrowly winning on two of the three scorecards (115-113) and 116-112 on a third. MTC Media scored the fight 116-112.
But what fight fans tend to forget is there’s a difference between a close fight on the scorecards and a close fight. This was a close fight on the scorecards. Except for the 8th and 9th rounds, there was no reason to think Madrimov was making headway in the fight.
It’s not unique for this to happen when fighters who have dominated a particular weight class move up. Evander Holyfield went through the same progression when he moved up from cruiserweight.
It’s why Crawford’s perceived slip could be his biggest gain, reassuring fans that he can be just as dominant at this weight.
In the 11th and 12th rounds, Crawford had figured out where his offense would come from against a fighter of that size and strength. That’s much longer than we’re used to, but it’s also part of the process.
Like Holyfield, if Crawford wants to dominate the 154-pound weight class, it will take time, and lessons learned will happen in front of a large audience. In today’s world of boxing, where fans are less sophisticated, the process of growth by an already dominant champion is viewed through a flawed lens.
On paper, is Crawford ready for Canelo Alvarez? Probably not. Crawford would be best served by having another one or two fights before thinking about Alvarez. Let’s be honest: Alvarez isn’t going to fight Crawford right now because, since the loss to Dmitry Bivol, Alvarez has only been fighting named fighters whose style is tailormade for his style. Crawford falls into a different category.
So, let’s avoid falling into Chris Mannix mode and make more out of Crawford’s performance than we should.
Crawford’s perceived slip will eventually be his gain.
