After a long wait, Terence Crawford will have a resounding return to the boxing ring, headlining a star-studded card on August 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. The stadium has a capacity of 22,000 seats in the stands, plus there will be thousands of spots as part of the on-field space.

According to BoxingScene, the huge Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles was initially considered, however, the chosen venue seems to have satisfied Bud’s promoter.

The show will also feature the Arab fighter, Turki Alalshikh, in his debut in the United States, as well as the Mexican Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz and the stellar return of ‘Destroyer’, Andy Ruiz, who has gone 18 months without a fight.

Although Crawford heads the bill, in search of a fourth title in a different division, in reality, his fight does not appear particularly attractive against the WBA super welterweight champion, Israil Madrimov, who only has a record of (10-0-1, 7 KO’s).

It’s for that reason the Mexican talent has been brought on board to support the event in an Aztec marketplace such as Los Angeles.

As a result, the event will feature ‘Pitbull’ Cruz‘s first defense of his WBA 140 lbs. Title. Meanwhile, Andy Ruiz, after being scorned by other important rivals at heavyweight, including Deontay Wilder, will return to the ring after 8 months of absence, last defeating Cuban Luis Ortiz by unanimous decision in September 2022.

The return of Terence Crawford and the rivals of the Pitbull and Andy Ruiz

After Crawford was unable to agree to a big purse in a fight against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, the American fighter is looking to move up from the super welterweight division, in a not-so-dramatic upgrade to super middleweight.

To make the fight more attractive, the WBO version of the interim title in this division will also be contested, to give Sebastian Fundora time to recover from a broken nose.

The Pitbull (26-2-1, 18 KOs) won his belt with an electrifying eighth round knockout against former champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero on March 30. It was the co-main event of Fundora’s two-belt super welterweight title victory over Australian Tim Tszyu in Las Vegas.

The Mexican is on the cusp of a big purse and has already received a stiffer challenge from the emboldened Ryan Garcia, after a convincing win over Devin Haney on Saturday in New York.

His opponent for this event will be fellow Mexican, Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KO’s), who defeated Chris Colbert in December.

Meanwhile, Andy Ruiz (35-2, 22 KO’s), who is still looking to salvage his reputation as the first Mexican-born world champion in the heavyweight division, is looking to get back on track after defeating Luis Ortiz by unanimous decision.

Ruiz, at 34 years old, is trying to earn a new opportunity against important fighters such as Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in a division loaded with serious contenders.

For this particular show, his opponent will be Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller (26-1-1, 22 KOs), who will go into the bout on the heels of fighting visibly overweight in his December 23 loss to Daniel Dubois in Saudi Arabia. With that in mind, we could be in for a 600-plus pound fight come fight night.

Another possible fight that has been discussed for the card is a farewell fight for former three-division champion Abner Mares in a trilogy against four-division champion Leo Santa Cruz, although the fight is not yet signed and, should a deal not be reached, could be held at a later date.

Jaron Ennis has been wanting a clash against Terence Crawford for quite a while. After inheriting Crawford’s IBF interim welterweight title, ‘Boots’ Ennis called him out for a fight but to no avail. However, he might just get his dream matchup following the declaration from His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. However, that’s not all this potential fight would do!

Earlier today, talkSport editor Michael Benson revealed that the WBO will sanction ‘Bud’ Crawford’s August 3 bout against Israil Madrimov for the super welterweight interim title, including Madrimov’s WBA super welterweight title. And! The winner will fight Sebastian Fundora, who will look to defend his recently acquired WBO and WBC super welterweight title. However, His Excellency’s declaration could prove disastrous for Fundora.

On April 22, Benson took to X, sharing insights from Alalshikh’s new ambition to make the fight between Terence Crawford vs. Jaron Ennis. Benson wrote, “His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has declared that he will try to make Terence Crawford vs Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis this year.” It means if Crawford wins against Madrimov on August 3 during Alalshikh’s debut event in America, he will have the option of facing Ennis or Fundora.

The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen “Breadman” Edwards giving his thoughts on various topics such as who wins between Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia, the news that Crawford might fight Madrimov, Boots-Tszyu and boxing’s hot young prospects

I need a clear pick and breakdown on Haney vs Garcia? Garcia’s tactics are working because I’m all over the place with my pick. On top of that Devin looks weight drained.

Bread’s Response: Devin and Ryan have fought 6 times as amateurs, each winning 3 times apiece. So although it was long ago, they are familiar with each other. I expect Ryan to be dangerous early because of that familiarity. When fighters are comfortable with their opponents, they don’t need the normal feeling out process….

I also expect him to go for it early because fighters know their weaknesses even if they don’t admit them. Ryan went for it TOO EARLY vs Tank and I think it’s because focusing hard for 12 rounds is just not something he’s comfortable with. So he tried to get the Tank fight over with as quickly as possible. That was a counter productive strategy vs Tank because he’s a lights out counter puncher. But Devin is NOT the counter puncher that Tank is. So I can see Ryan going for it again early. 

So while Devin isn’t the counter puncher that Tank is, he does have a great set of legs and a consistent great jab to keep himself out of trouble. Ryan’s chances lie within the first 4 rounds. As the fight moves along I expect Devin’s ability to focus to be the separator. I think Devin’s right hand OVER the top will be hard for Ryan to deal with. I look for Devin to slowly take over after the halfway point. 

My biggest question is can Devin stop Ryan? I think he can but Devin hasn’t stopped anyone in a long time and he hasn’t really come close. So if I were betting I would bet Devin to win a decision. Because that’s safe. But I would hedge with something smaller on a ko because knockouts come in all forms. Sometimes a fighter loses focus and sort of gets himself kod….. I also wouldn’t be surprised if PRIDE took over at some point and Ryan got DISQUALIFIED.

Sup Bread!

I didn’t realize how long it’s been since I’ve written in but I’ve never missed a mailbag. In one of your mailbags, you mentioned how boxing is a game of inches. I have a few questions that I want to ask you and I hope life has been treating you well!

1. Do you feel like Floyd Mayweather played the game of inches the best out of everyone you have observed in boxing history during his “Money” Mayweather run?

I can’t think of anyone that had a team that made sure to maximize his chances of success at the level that he did outside of the ring before he stepped into the ring with an opponent.

2. Do you feel like boxing is sorely missing the “Big fight” feel from the HBO/Showtime era? Watching the 24/7, lead up to the fights really brought an almost SuperBowl type feel when Watching fights on PPV…

3. With the Mike Tyson/Jake Paul fight getting closer, my biggest concern for Mike is punch resistance. I hated watching Evander Holyfield fighting under the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones undercard years ago as he couldn’t take punches that he would have been ok with when he was much younger. How do you feel that will play out with Mike being almost 60?

4. Thinking about the type of audience that Jake Paul brings to his fights.. .do you think that the best path for boxing to rise to a higher level of popularity is to include more influencers on main event boxing cards or do you feel like where boxing is right now is where it will be for the foreseeable future?

WBC, WBA, and WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) and WBA super welterweight titleholder Israil Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) have held initial discussions about a potential fight.

According to BoxingScene, the bout could take place on August 3rd at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This fight could mark the first event in the United States organized by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority head Turki Alalshikh.

The deal is reportedly nearing completion, with promotional efforts to be managed by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.

Uzbekistan’s Israil Madrimov claimed the WBA title on March 8th in Riyadh, defeating Magomed Kurbanov via technical knockout in the fifth round.

For Crawford, this would mark his fourth weight division. His most recent fight was in July 2023, where he defeated Errol Spence Jr. by early stoppage in a showdown for the undisputed title.

Terence Crawford could be the next major boxing star heading to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh posted a picture of ‘Bud’ to his social media earlier today with a shrugging emoji and boxing glove, appearing to tease a possible link-up between the pair.

Crawford stoked the flames further as he responded with two shushing emojis.

Alalshikh is the most influential man in boxing right now and has been putting on cards for the last 12 months that would otherwise be the stuff of fantasy.

The Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority is the driving force behind the upcoming undisputed heavyweight showdown between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on May 18.

And most recently he funded Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou’s crossover clash in March.

Alalshikh seems set on working with all the top names in the sport so it makes sense for him to be eyeing up a deal with the pound-for-pound king of boxing, Crawford.

The 36-year-old has been out of action since July last year when he stopped Errol Spence to become the first undisputed welterweight champion of the four-belt era.

He has been linked with several different opportunities over the last few months but it is proving to be a nightmare for Crawford to get anything over the line.

The first fight to fall by the wayside was a rematch with Spence.

Big Fish’ activated the two-way rematch clause in their contract shortly after the conclusion of their inaugural encounter.

However, esteemed boxing journalist Dan Rafael reported in February that the fight is unlikely to take place due to a ‘variety of reasons’, including Spence enduring a lengthy stint on the sidelines after undergoing cataract surgery.

Crawford’s attention then turned to a bout with newly-crowned WBC and WBO super-welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora.

But again that bout has hit a snag following reports suggesting Fundora and Tim Tszyu are targeting a rematch for November in Las Vegas.

It is presently unclear which fight is in the pipeline for Crawford although hardcore boxing fans would love to see him in a blockbuster dust-up with Jarron ‘Boots’ Ennis next.

Welterweight champion Terence Crawford is calling for the start of a professional boxing union to help fighters secure benefits such as a 401K, pension plans, and health insurance.

“We don’t have a union, but there needs to be one,” Crawford told Bloomberg. “A lot of fighters go broke after they finish fighting and that shouldn’t happen. If a fighter gets seriously damaged or hurt, he or she should have something backing them so they don’t have to look for money to help pay for their medical bills.”

Crawford, the first welterweight boxer to take the top prize in all four professional championships in his weight class, is seeking to change boxing’s labor standards just a couple weeks after he beat Errol Spence Jr in a marquee bout where both fighters entered undefeated. Crawford’s union plan also comes as organized movements around the U.S., from UPS drivers and Hollywood writers and actors, have fought for better contracts and benefits. The NFLPA, MLBPA, and NHLPA have all publicly supported the WGA’s ongoing strike.

“If all of the top fighters with a name and a brand behind them came together, we could make change,” he said.  “We have different races, different ages, different countries — it’s everyone from all walks of life coming together. I think it can be done.”

In January 2022, Crawford filed a lawsuit seeking nearly $10 million against his former promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank, accusing him of racial bias against promoting Black fighters.

“Boxing is one of the most corrupted sports there is and ever [has] been in the history of sports,” Crawford said in another interview with Boardroom. “We’ll take a $5 million guarantee not knowing there’s $30 million dollars that we missed,” he added. “Once I started asking [contract] questions and learning a bit here and there, it became a problem between me and my old promoter, and at that point in time, I knew it was time to go.”