LOS ANGELES – Terence Crawford overcame a complicated opponent in Israil Madrimov on Saturday night to score a close unanimous decision victory in his junior middleweight debut.  

The result of the tactical fight was still hanging in the balance heading into the 12th round, and Madrimov (10-1-1, 7KOs) could have mustered a majority draw if he found a second gear, but Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) did just enough to get the nod and become a four-division champion. 

Judges scored the fight 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113, as Crawford outlanded Madrimov 95 to 84.

“I felt great. It was no different than being at 147. Israil was just a strong opponent. We knew that coming into the gates,” Crawford said during his post-fight press conference at the BMO Stadium. 

“We knew he was durable. If anything surprised me, it was his patience. 

“His feinting was disrupting me. It was his patience. He wasn't winging wild shots like we had seen in previous fights. He was very disciplined. 

“I was trying to counter him but he had a good game plan. He had a lot of feints and I was trying to dictate when he was going to come. A lot of times I was wrong.”

Madrimov ended Crawford’s streak of 11 consecutive stoppage wins dating back to 2016. 

Crawford looked sensational in his scorching hot win last summer against Errol Spence Jr. to claim the undisputed welterweight crown, but Madrimov never gave “Bud” the same opportunities as his previous opponents did. 

“I don't want to say it was my toughest fight – Mean Machine [Egidijus Kavaliauskas], [Yuriorkis] Gamboa and [Jose] Benavidez was a tougher fight than that,” said Crawford. “I might have gotten the knockouts, but those were tough fights in their own right. 

“I was touching [Madrimov] up with the jab. I think my jab was beating him up all through the fight. But he landed a couple of right hands that were telling for the judges and fans, but it was nothing that I hadn't seen before. 

“He was just waiting on me. He was doing a lot of movements, but at the same time, he was trying to counter me like I was trying to counter him. It was a mixture of counter-to-counter.”

Crawford turns 37 next month, and discourse has already kicked off from rivals that Crawford is no longer at the peak of his powers. 

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, promised Crawford would next continue his conquests against either Canelo Alvarez or Vergil Ortiz Jr. 

“It feels great. [Becoming a four-division champion] was one of those missions that we were on. We weren't going to let anyone take it from us,” said Crawford.

“The cream always rises to the top, and if you look around, I am the last man standing. I'm still at the top. What more can you ask from Terence Crawford?” 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.