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Eddie Hearn: 154 pounds a step too far for Terence Crawford

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Terence Crawford

Promoter Eddie Hearn has doubts that the brilliance of Terence Crawford, already a three-weight champ, will transfer to junior middleweight where he challenges WBA boss Israil Madrimov on August 3.

Crawford, 40-0 (31 KOs), is widely considered to be the pound-for-pound best fighter in the sport today. He won his first title down at lightweight against Ricky Burns back in 2014 and since then has gone on to conquer the junior welterweight and welterweight divisions – becoming undisputed in both. Now Crawford, 36, is aiming to win a belt in a fourth division when he takes on Madrimov.

“Terence Crawford’s first-ever victory as world champion was on my show in Glasgow [against Ricky Burns], it was at 135 pounds,” Hearn, speaking as Madrimov’s promoter, told Matchroom Boxing. “He won a world championship there, he moved to 140 and beat another one of our fighters there to become undisputed at 140 pounds. He moved to 147 and became undisputed at 147. Now he’s moving to 154, sooner or later it’s too much.

Although Hearn accepts his fighter is the underdog going into the contest because of Crawford’s past achievements, he believes that the size and power of the Uzbekistan fighter will be the deciding factor.

“I think when you’re fighting someone who is a big 154-pounder with huge power, that is when you’re going to get found out,” Hearn continued. “[Madrimov is] the underdog going into this fight, but I think this is the toughest fight of Terence Crawford’s career so far. [Crawford] will already go down as a great, but at some point, when you move through the divisions, one of those steps is just a step too far.”

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BOXING

Roy Jones Jr. Names Tank Davis And Crawford As The Best

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Gervonta Davis

Roy Jones Jr. has named Gervonta Davis and Terence Crawford the best fighters in the world.

Both boxers are currently undefeated, although their title accomplishments differ. Davis is the current WBA Lightweight Champion after being elevated once Devin Haney vacated and moved on. He knocked out Frank Martin in his last bout as he chases legacy-defining fights. His biggest win so far was against Ryan Garcia, stopping him in round seven to earn a reported $50 million.

Those earnings will eclipse what Crawford has managed to do for a single fight, but Bud’s accomplishments are far better. Crawford knocked out Errol Spence Jr. in his last fight to become the first Undisputed Welterweight Champion of the four-belt era.

Jones Reacts

The win also made him undisputed in a second weight class. Crawford is now one of the best P4P fighters. He will box Israil Madrimov on August 3. A win makes him a four-division champion as he chases a historic undisputed fight with Canelo Alvarez at 168. Jones had nothing but praise based on what he had seen of them.

“One of the best ones out there… he’s really one of the pound-for-pound best ones out of the coop. He can punch but he also can box. Some that can punch, can’t box. He can box, he can punch, he can move laterally, he can do it left side, right side.

“He can do whatever he needs to do as a southpaw to get the job done and that’s saying a lot because not many guys can do that today. [And] he shows discipline… discipline enough to [know] he got enough shock on his punch but he knows how to set the punch up before he does it. hat’s a real chess player in the boxing ring. [Davis] and Terence Crawford are two of the best right now because of their setup game,” Jones said

Jones also took his time out to praise Naoya Inoue. The Japanese is also a two-weight undisputed champion, having won all the belts at bantamweight and super bantamweight. He is coming off a sixth-round stoppage win against Luis Nery. The fight showed Inoue’s heart. He got off the canvas to stop the Mexican in a dominant fashion.

Who Is The Best?

Inoue will now box TJ Doheny on September 3 in another defense of his title with a view to moving up in weight maybe within the next two years. Inoue fights in a smaller weight class than Davis and Crawford, making him a lesser-known name amongst the casuals. But he continues to sell out stadiums, making him an exciting attraction. Jones found it tough to separate Inoue from Crawford as the best P4P fighter.

“I think that dude is really pound-for-pound No. 1. He just don’t have the competition at that weight class to have that big fight to get it right now, and the United States don’t know him because we don’t have big fighters in his weight class over here that we know that good.

“So he’s really pound-for-pound No. 1, but because he doesn’t have the opposition to prove it, I’ve got to leave ‘Bud’ there. And the reason I leave ‘Bud’ there is because ‘Bud’ was there for so long with the same problem Inoue had. He had no opponent to be able to prove it with. Inoue, I think is No. 1. but he’s going to have to be No. 2 for now because he doesn’t have that opponent, but that’s a badd dude,” Jones stated 

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BOXING

Gervonta Davis receives the best news and fulfills his dream of the Olympic Games, but in a different way

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Gervonta Davis could head to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris as a representative of Team USA, although he will not be pulling the gloves on and stepping into the ring to compete for a gold medal in France.

The WBA lightweight champion of the world, who knocked out Ryan Garcia in April 2023, would link up with the United States’ cohort as an advisor with the aim of coaching them to Olympic glory in boxing

Given his status amongst the world’s best boxers,” Matt Johnson, of USA Boxing, wrote in a letter to a Baltimore Judge. “Mr. Davis would be a key asset in motivating and supporting our team to achieve Olympic greatness and become the number one nation in the world at this year’s Olympic Games.”

And the judge signed off on the request, permitting him to be in France from July 19-August 12, which had to be made due to conditions imposed on Davis for his role in a hit-and-run from 2020 within Baltimore.

Davis will be a useful asset to the team although he will quickly need to adjust to the differences from the professional and amateur scene, the Olympics being considered part of the latter. In the Games, fighters will compete for three rounds making the odds of a KO slim which is very different to the 12 rounds ‘Tank’ Davis is used to.

All the same, the wealth of experience from his 30 professional fights, the most recent of them on June 15, 2024, could be valuable and Davis is considered to be one of the best in the business pound-for-pound too.

“Some that can punch, can’t box. He can box, he can punch,” Roy Jones Jr said of Davis to All The Smoke Fight. “He can move laterally, he can do it left side, right side.

“He’s the most deadly kind of guy in the world besides a Mike Tyson type guy in boxing.”

Who will Team USA send to the Olympics?

The United States of America has a very high reputation to maintain in the world of boxing when one thinks of fighters such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Mike Tyson so they will be keen to get their hands on the Olympic gold medals again.

Although they’re throwing a curveball by sending a team of exclusive rookies to the events in France, like they did for the 2020 Tokyo Games, when they won three silvers in their best haul since 2004.

Here are the names of the four fighters Team USA will send to the men’s boxing championships in Paris this summer: Roscoe Hill, flyweight; Jahmal Harvey, featherweight; Omari Jones, welterweight; Joshua Edwards, super-heavyweight.

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BOXING

Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois in fiery sparring sessions as favourite to win named

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Anthony Joshua

An undefeated boxer has backed Anthony Joshua to beat Daniel Dubois when the pair of heavyweights meet in the ring this September.

34-year-old AJ is currently enjoying a four-fight winning streak at heavyweight, and will still be relishing his second-round knockout of former UFC champion Francis Ngannou from their Saudi Arabia super fight in March. But he’ll have high hopes of reclaiming his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles that he lost to Oleksandr Usyk back in 2022.

With a record of 28-3, Joshua enjoyed big-name wins over the likes of Alexander Povetkin, Joseph Parker and Wladimir Klitschko before losing his aforementioned titles to Andy Ruiz Jr in the first loss of his professional career back in 2019. While he would atone for his defeat and regain his straps the same year by beating the very same man, he would be unable to make up for his initial loss to Usyk in 2021.

AJ would lose at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium via unanimous decision to the Ukrainian before a rematch in 2022 would rule out any chances of an imminent third title fight. But wins over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Walin and Ngannou have seen the Watford-born star slowly climb back towards a title shot.

But he’ll have to get the better of 26-year-old fellow Brit Dubois later this year should he have any hopes of seeing his cherished belts again. Dubois himself is hoping for a crack at the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and WBC titles – after an undefeated Usyk would deny him four of the five belts in Wroclaw last year, victorious via a ninth-round KO.

No strangers to one another inside the squared circle, AJ has shared many a sparring session with Dubois as the latter trained for Olympic greatness at the 2020 Tokyo Games – following in the footsteps of Joshua’s own gold medal in London in 2012. And Sky Boxing reporter, Adam Smith, said he witnessed many of these sessions – informing fans that they can expect a “pretty terrific” bout this September.

Speaking to the Pro Boxing Fans YouTube channel, Smith said: “The British fight fans have got a chance of seeing AJ again, and in a great domestic dust-up which doesn’t happen too often. You think back to Lewis Bruno and those sorts of nights, but it’s great – they’re two really powerful British heavyweights, they’ve got a big history.

“I’ve seen them spar so many rounds at Team GB and I promise you they were all pretty terrific – pretty hot stuff. So I’m looking forward to that. Dubois will believe this new lease of life that he can topple AJ – AJ back under Ben Davison’s wing looking really, really smart and efficient and back to his best. Bring it on, fantastic.”

Dubois decided to abandon his Olympic dreams in favour of turning pro, signing with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions. The move has proven to have been incredibly successful, with Dubois amassing an impressive record of 21-2 with 20 knockouts to his name over the likes of Filip Hrgović, Jarell Miller and Trevor Bryan.

The IBF interim heavyweight champion will be wanting to prove that he can beat the best of the best when he goes toe to toe with Joshua come September, having been beaten by legends in Joe Joyce and the aforementioned Usyk in high-pressure title fights prior. But undefeated super heavyweight Frazer Clarke has Joshua as the favourite to reign supreme over his former teammate when the two clash.

Also speaking to PBF, the 32-year-old admitted: “I’ve witnessed hundreds of rounds with them, loads of rounds with them. I’ll be intrigued. Obviously they’ve both come a long way since then. I’ve still got Joshua favourite, but then Daniel could surprise me because I had Hrgovic as a bit of a favourite against him the other day.

“Who knows? I think they’ve both got good teams around them and Daniel will realise that he can’t take the amount of right hands as he took off Hrgovic from Joshua because…he’ll know that himself. Different fighters. Listen, it’s the heavyweight division, anything could happen, and the way that it is at the moment, everyone’s fighting each other, you’re getting surprises and shocks all of the time. So who knows?”

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BOXING

Otto Wallin replaces Anthony Joshua in WBC rankings, Tyson Fury is new mandatory

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Anthony Joshua

Tyson Fury is the leading heavyweight contender in the latest WBC rankings following confirmation that Anthony Joshua, the previous WBC mandatory, will challenge the IBF titlist Daniel Dubois in September.

Joshua has been removed from the ratings as per WBC policy regarding fighters competing for rival belts. Taking his place in the Top 15, at number 15, is Sweden’s Otto Wallin, who Joshua knocked out in December. Oleksandr Usyk is the WBC champion.

There is still no place for Joseph Parker because he holds the needless WBO interim title. Zhilei Zhang, who lost to Parker in March, is ranked third and Deontay Wilder, outpointed by Parker in December, is 14th.

Johnny Fisher enters for the first time following his recent 36-second knockout victory over Alen Babic. The Romford ticket-seller is rated at 38, but Babic keeps his place at bridgerweight, where he can be found at 15th

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BOXING

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis Delivers Honest Verdict On Terence Crawford vs Canelo Alvarez Fight

By
Terence Crawford

Jaron Ennis is now the man to beat at welterweight after Terence Crawford made the decision to move up in weight.

Crawford became the single ruler in the division when he put in a career-defining performance against Errol Spence Jr last time out.

Going into the fight, many billed it as a 50/50 contest but ‘Bud’ dominated from the opening bell, dropping Spence three times until the referee called a halt to proceedings in the ninth round.

With that victory Crawford wrote his name into the history books as the first man to ever be undisputed champion in two weight classes in the four belt era – a feat that has now been matched by the ‘Japanese Monster’ Naoya Inoue and the heavyweight king, Oleksandr Usyk.

The 36-year-old then made it clear that he only wants legacy building fights before he hang up the gloves and targeted a clash three weight classes up against super-middleweight ruler, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.

With Canelo undecided about a Crawford bout claiming he won’t receive any credit for beating the naturally smaller man, ‘Bud’ has decided to move up one division to take on WBA super-welterweight champion Israil Madrimov in an attempt to become a four-weight world champion.

Ennis however believes he poses the toughest test to Crawford and wants his countryman to either move back down to 147 or stay at 154 to face him.

The 27-year-old has put in a string of eye-catching performances and boasts an undefeated record of 32 wins with 29 coming by way of knockout.

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BOXING

Roy Jones Jr Has No Doubt Who Is Better Between Gervonta Davis And Shakur Stevenson

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Roy Jones Jr is regarded by many as one of the best to ever lace up the gloves, so is well qualified to judge the top fighters in the game today.

Arguably the most talent-stacked divisions in boxing are lightweight and super-lightweight, with the likes of Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez all plying their trade there.

A potential lightweight unification fight which intrigues fans and offers a fascinating clash of styles is ‘Tank’ Davis versus Stevenson.

Most pundits are split as to who would come out on top – the precision punching power of Tank or the defensive skills of Stevenson.

Speaking to All The Smoke Fight, Jones was full of praise for both men, starting with Shakur,

The former four-weight world champion believes ‘Tank’ is one of the deadliest fighters in the sport.

Asked if Shakur was the best lightweight in the world, Jones didn’t hesitate to shut it down.

Instead he believes the Baltimore native is the best of the bunch.

It looks unlikely the two will collide next, with Davis and IBF champion Lomachenko in talks to face each other later this year.

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BOXING

Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois favourite named after pair’s fiery sparring sessions

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Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua will face Daniel Dubois in a highly-anticipated heavyweight showdown in September – with the former Olympic champion backed to emerge victorious.

Anthony Joshua has been tipped to triumph over Daniel Dubois in their upcoming heavyweight clash in September. The 34-year-old is currently on a four-fight winning streak and will be riding high after his second-round knockout of ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou in their March super fight over in Saudi Arabia.

Joshua will be aiming to reclaim his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles that he lost to Oleksandr Usyk in 2022 in the near future, but he’ll have to get through Dubois first. With a record of 28-3, AJ defeated big names like Alexander Povetkin, Joseph Parker and Wladimir Klitschko before losing his titles to Andy Ruiz Jr in his first professional defeat of 2019.

Although he managed to regain his titles by defeating Ruiz Jr later that year, he was unable to recover from his initial loss to Usyk in 2021. Joshua suffered a unanimous decision defeat to the Ukrainian at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, and a rematch in 2022 ruled out any immediate third title fight when he lost on split decision.

However, victories over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Walin and Ngannou have seen the Watford-born star gradually work his way back towards a title shot. However, for any chance of a reunion with his treasured belts, he’ll have to outdo 26-year-old fellow Brit Dubois later this year.

Dubois himself is aiming for the heavyweight titles after also suffering defeat to an undefeated Usyk in Wroclaw last year, reports the Mirror. AJ and Dubois are familiar to each other in the ring having sparred numerous times as the latter trained for Olympic glory in Tokyo 2020 – following Joshua’s own gold medal win in London 2012.

Sky Boxing correspondent Adam Smith saw several of these sparring sessions and assures fans they can anticipate a “pretty terrific” match come September. Speaking on the Pro Boxing Fans YouTube channel, Smith said: “The British fight fans have got a chance of seeing AJ again, and in a great domestic dust-up which doesn’t happen too often.

“You think back to Lewis Bruno and those sorts of nights, but it’s great – they’re two really powerful British heavyweights, they’ve got a big history. I’ve seen them spar so many rounds at Team GB and I promise you they were all pretty terrific – pretty hot stuff.

“So I’m looking forward to that. Dubois will believe this new lease of life that he can topple AJ – AJ back under Ben Davison’s wing looking really, really smart and efficient and back to his best. Bring it on, fantastic.”

Dubois chose to leave his Olympic aspirations behind, opting instead to join the ranks of the pros under Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions – and it’s a move which has undoubtedly paid off, with the young boxer boasting a notable record of 21-2, including 20 knockouts against big names like Filip Hrgovic, Jarell Miller, and Trevor Bryan.

As the current IBF interim heavyweight champion, Dubois is eager to show he can hold his own against some of the industry’s finest come September when he squares off with Joshua. The young champ has previously suffered losses in high-stakes title fights against boxing legends Joe Joyce and the aforementioned Usyk – and unbeaten super heavyweight Frazer Clarke believes Joshua still holds the favour over his past teammate when it comes down to the wire.

In an interview with PBF, the 32-year-old boxing pro said: “I’ve witnessed hundreds of rounds with them, loads of rounds with them. I’ll be intrigued. Obviously they’ve both come a long way since then. I’ve still got Joshua favourite, but then Daniel could surprise me because I had Hrgovic as a bit of a favourite against him the other day.

“Who knows? I think they’ve both got good teams around them and Daniel will realise that he can’t take the amount of right hands as he took off Hrgovic from Joshua because…he’ll know that himself. Different fighters. Listen, it’s the heavyweight division, anything could happen, and the way that it is at the moment, everyone’s fighting each other, you’re getting surprises and shocks all of the time. So who knows?”

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BOXING

Heavyweight Who Was KOd By Joshua And Dubois Has No Doubt Who Hit Harder: “I Lost My Senses”

By
Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua versus Daniel Dubois is a clash of two seriously big punchers.

Joshua’s campaign started as impressively as his amateur journey ended. After picking up an Olympic Gold medal at London 2012, he went on a knockout spree that took him all the way to the IBF world title in quick time.

After a few defences and adding the WBO and WBA titles to his collection, he first ran into trouble against late stand-in Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, but after a shock knockout loss he managed to regain his belts in the rematch.

Since then he has taken two further losses to Oleksandr Usyk but once again got back to winning ways in the last year or so with four back-to-back victories.

Dubois was stopping men just as freely when he first started out before having his eye socket broken against Joe Joyce which caused him to take a knee and be counted out. After his own loss to Usyk, he has rebuilt and shown plenty of courage in tough fights with Fillip Hrgovic and Jarrell Miller.

Journeyman Dorian Darch was a feature in both men’s come-up and, speaking to Pro Boxing Fans, discussed the fight.

Darch was on the wrong end of a second round TKO loss to ‘AJ’ back in 2014 and then suffered the same fate in the same round against Dubois three years later.

The pair will meet at Wembley Stadium on September 21 when Dubois defends the IBF belt he was awarded once it was vacated by former undisputed champion Usyk.

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BOXING

Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov: Boxing Odds, Best Bets & Predictions

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Terence Crawford

August may be the dog days of summer, but it’s giving boxing fans and bettors a big fight to look forward to.

Terence Crawford will battle Israil Madrimov in a high-stakes boxing match on Aug. 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles with the WBA and WBO Interim World Super Welterweight title on the line. The winner will also be well-positioned to challenge Canelo Alvarez for the undisputed super middleweight title next year.

Crawford, 36, is moving up to 154 pounds for this fight and is considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Madrimov, 29, claimed the WBA title with his fifth-round TKO of Magomed Kurbanov in March and has bulked up as well, setting the stage for an epic showdown between two undefeated fighters.

Bettors looking to wager on the fight can do so at our favorite boxing betting sites, all of which feature plenty of odds and lines for this dramatic matchup. They can also wager on other fights on the card, which is considered the best for a U.S.-based fight in years.

Here’s a look at what you need to know about the fight and how to bet on it.

Crawford vs. Madrimov Preview
  • Date: Saturday, Aug. 3
  • Time: TBD
  • Location: BMO Stadium (Los Angeles)
  • Moneyline: Crawford -750, Madrimov +500
  • Stream: ESPN+, PPV

Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook and subject to change.

While their matchup is still several weeks away, Crawford is the heavy betting favorite with -750 moneyline odds at DraftKings.

That isn’t surprising, as Crawford is one of the best boxers alive with an undefeated record to prove it. He’s 40-0 with 31 knockouts, including nine straight KOs/TKOs. His most recent bout ended in a ninth-round TKO of Errol Spence Jr. last July, making Crawford the undisputed welterweight champion.

Madrimov will have his work cut out for him against the 5-foot-8 southpaw. The up-and-coming Uzbekistan native is also undefeated at 10-0-1 with seven knockouts. “The Dream” fought more recently than Crawford, taking down Kurbanov in March.

Madrimov is considerably younger than Crawford. He’s a hungry, athletic and powerful switch-hitter with an orthodox stance who could give Crawford trouble.

However, Crawford has experience on his side. He’s also more skilled and has a significant 5.5-inch reach advantage, which will be tough for Madrimov to overcome. Crawford, who last fought at 168 pounds, hasn’t fought at 154 pounds since he defeated Brian Castaño in March 2022.

This fight could be closer than the oddsmakers are expecting, but it’s tough to go against Crawford, especially with a potential Alvarez fight at stake.

How to Bet on Crawford vs. Madrimov

The simplest bet to make for this fight is on the moneyline. This is a wager on which fighter will win, regardless of the method of victory or length of the fight.

As mentioned above, Crawford is a massive -750 favorite on the moneyline at DraftKings, which means you’d have to wager $750 to win $100. Madrimov is a +500 underdog, so you’d profit $500 if your $100 bet on him cashes.

As of July 15, 98% of moneyline wagers at DraftKings are on Crawford, showing how much confidence the public has in him.

Another straightforward bet is the Over/Under on the total number of rounds the fight will last. The line is set at 10.5 rounds, with the Under slightly juiced to -125 and the Over at -110. Based on those odds, this is expected to be a shorter fight between these two sluggers that could end with an early knockout.

You can also bet on the method of victory as a prop bet. Crawford winning by KO/TKO/DQ has the shortest odds at -135, followed by Crawford winning by decision or technical decision (+180). Madrimov’s odds for those outcomes are at +850 and +1100, respectively. A draw has the longest odds at +2000.

Bettors can also wager on whether the fight will go the distance. The fight going the distance has +125 odds compared to -175 odds for the fight to end early, so oddsmakers are not expecting the fight to last until the final bell.

Lastly, you can combine multiple wagers into a parlay to get longer odds and take a shot at a higher payout. For example, you can bet on a fighter to win and for the match to go over or under a certain number of rounds in the same bet ticket.

Crawford vs. Madrimov Fight Card

This is the first boxing event put on by Saudi Arabia on U.S. soil, and the lineup is impressive. While some fans may only be interested in Crawford vs. Madrimov, the rest of the card is full of talented fighters and intriguing matchups, including title fights for WBA light heavyweight and WBA super lightweight.

Here’s the full fight card for Crawford vs. Madrimov along with the moneyline odds for each fight at DraftKings.

  • Main Event: Terence Crawford (-750) vs. Israil Madrimov (+500)
  • Heavyweight: Jared Anderson (-195) vs. Martin Bakole (+155)
  • Light Heavyweight: David Morrell (-4000) vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic (+1100)
  • Super Lightweight: Isaac Cruz (-450) vs. Jose Valenzuela (+320)
  • Lightweight: Andy Cruz (-2500) vs. Antonio Moran (+900)
  • Heavyweight: Andy Ruiz Jr. (-350) vs. Jarrell Miller (+260)
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