Many have been asking when the next Terence “Bud” Crawford fight will happen. Boxing’s pound-for-pound champ will be in action Saturday, August 3, in Los Angeles against Israil Madrimov live on DAZN PPV. The anticipated return for Crawford will be at the new weight of 154 pounds as he positions himself for future mega fights. They’ve mentioned Crawford taking Canelo Alvarez after this as the rumor and innuendo following this, but win first here, and the boxing chips fall where they do after. This event is the first of many fight cards with promotional outlets working together under the “Riyadh Season” banner in the United States.
At the final presser on Thursday, Eddie Hearn said this is the best American fight card in history. That’s either the worst lie by Hearn since the last one he told or an indictment of the current state of boxing here in the States. It’s more of the latter, for sure, here. The sticker for this card is $74.99, including a musical performance by rapper Eminem. “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)” came out last month, and it has callbacks to names you may remember, much like the story of this undercard.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Saturday, August 3, 2024
Start Time: 430 pm EST
What Channel: Streaming Exclusively live on DAZN pay-per-view ($79.99)
Venue: BMO Stadium, Los Angeles
WHAT’S THE UNDERCARD LOOKING LIKE?
Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) vs. Jose Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KOs), WBA Super-Lightweight World Title
Andy Ruiz Jr. (35-2, 22 KOs) vs. Jarrell’ Big Baby’ Miller (26-1-1, 22 KOs)
Jared Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) vs. Martin Bakole (20-1, 15 KOs)
David Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs) vs. Radivoje ‘Hot Rod’ Kalajdzic (29-2, 21 KOs), WBA Light-Heavyweight World Title
Andy Cruz (3-0, 1 KO) vs. Antonio Moran (30-6-1, 21 KOs)
Steve Nelson (19-0, 15 KOs) vs. Marcos Ramon Vazquez (20-0-1, 10 KOs)
Ziyad Almaayouf (5-0, 1 KO) vs. Michal Bulik (6-7, 2 KO)
If this is your 1st time watching a fight card backed by the General Entertainment Authority, I’m here to let you know that they love heavyweight boxing. That is why the return of Andy Ruiz Jr. after a 2-year absence taking on Jarrell Miller is here in what I’m dubbing the “True 2019 Champion Bowl”. Both 2019 were slated to face Anthony Joshua, but Ruiz would upset the world champion after original challenger Miller tested positive for several banned substances I still can’t pronounce. Since then, Miller has bounced around a few spots, fought in a few countries, and was last seen in a losing effort against Daniel Dubois. More active than Ruiz, last seen outpointing Luis Oritz in a tactical match in 2022.
If that heavyweight contest doesn’t tickle your fancy, the one most are looking forward to is Jared Anderson taking on Martin Bakole. This bout is my favorite matchup on the whole card, and it puts two contending heavyweights in a position to move up the ranks or fight the Miller/Ruiz winner afterward. The rest of these undercard features David Morrell and “Hot Rod” Radivoje Kalajdzic in a Top 5 scrap at Light Heavyweight. Issac Cruz takes on Jose Valenzuela, and ProBox TV Tournament winner Antonio Moran takes on decorated amateur Andy Cruz. It’s a “stacked” card in name recognition, no question. Matchups? Sort of.
ODDS AND PREDICTION
Do you remember the last time Crawford was an underdog? I don’t, and to no one’s shock here, he’s about a 7 to 1-favorite and climbing on most books to beat Madrimov. Boxing folks will belabor the “will the power transfer with the weight move” as a talking point, but many have Crawford as their Top 3 fighter in the world, so that’s just hot air moving there. With that in mind, I expect Crawford to win by knockout late like he did in his stoppage of Shawn Porter in 2021.
Terence Crawford -700
Israil Madrimov +500
Bet Odds courtesy of BetMGM.
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