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Crawford confident and focused ahead of Madrimov fight

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Image: Crawford Confident and Focused Ahead of Madrimov Fight

Terence Crawford says he feels mighty at 154 pounds ahead of his fight with WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrilmov, which will air live on DAZN on Saturday.

(Source: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)

Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) moves up seven pounds from 147 to 154, looking to dethrone the undefeated Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) in his first fight at the weight and then potentially move up again.

Madrimov will have a say in whether Crawford continues his career Saturday night. He plans to give the newcomer a rude welcome by taking him down and changing his vision of using their fight as a springboard to a showdown with Canelo Alvarez at 168 pounds.

Crawford says he’s not taking Madrimov lightly, but he’s made it clear throughout the promotion for their fight that he wants Canelo to be next. No matter how Crawford wants to present it, it’s a signal that he’s looking beyond Madrimov and using him as a springboard.

Comparisons to Jeff Horn

Some believe Madrimov is the same as Jeff Horn, the fighter Crawford knocked out in the ninth round in June 2018. Horn is significantly faster than Madrimov but lacks his power.

Crawford was faster then, and he’s slowed down a lot over the last six years. He’s still quick, but not like he was when he fought Horn six years ago.

Madrimov may have trouble with Crawford if he can’t hurt him with his punches, as he can’t match his speed and combinations. Crawford was stronger than Horn and muscled him up with his clinch wrestling.

It may be hard for him to do that against Madramimov, as he is stronger than Horn was back then.

“I feel great, I feel mighty, I feel motivated. I’m ready to go out here and do my thing,” said Terence Crawford Fight Center TVdiscussing his fight against Israel Madrimov on Saturday night.

Crawford looked close to weight tonight and showed no signs of exhaustion. It will be engaging to see if he can maintain his speed at 147 pounds in this fight.

“I wasn’t mad. Eddie was just throwing rocks and saying whatever came to mind,” Crawford said of how Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn upset him during a meeting Monday at BMO Stadium with Madrimov.

“He’s a great fighter. He’s tough, hungry, tough, athletic,” Crawford said of Madrimov. He has a lot of experience in the amateur ranks, but as you can see, he’s a champion with only 11 fights, and that says a lot about his current ability.

If Crawford can handle Madrimov’s power, he should win this fight easily. If he wants the fight with Canelo, a knockout would be the best option. Crawford shouldn’t box and play it safe and sound with Madrimov, because Canelo won’t want to fight someone who will give him flashbacks to the Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight from a decade ago.

“I’m only worried about one person, and that’s Israil. I’m not taking that guy lightly. He’s a tough opponent. It’s going to be tough on Saturday. I’m not taking anybody lightly or worrying about anybody right now,” Crawford said.

Terence was asked about his thoughts on Errol Spence potentially retiring. He hasn’t fought in a year since losing to Crawford, and fans have speculated that he might hang up his gloves.

“We know he’s capable of a lot of things, but we’re not going to leave anything out, so we’re preparing the way we’ve been preparing and focusing on him the way we’ve been focusing on him,” Crawford said of Madrimov.

For Madrimov to have a chance at winning, he can’t miss with his punches like he has in his last few fights. His punches are off target, many of them are off target, leaving him vulnerable to counters. Madrimov managed to do that against Magomed Kurbanov and Raphael Igbokwe because they lacked the skills to make him pay.

“I’ve always sparred with bigger guys. I’ve never sparred with guys my own size. So that’s nothing. No,” Crawford said of whether fighting at super middleweight would be an issue for him.

Crawford should be ecstatic being the smaller guy against Madrimov because he’s facing a slower fighter who can’t give him the size problems that a faster fighter can. If Crawford were to move up to 175 and face Dmitry Bivol or David Benavidez, he’d have trouble.

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Boxing

Tyson’s conqueror, Danny Williams, was “never considered” for Morrison

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Kenzie Morrison Danny Williams

World Boxing News has learned that Danny Williams was never considered for a fight against Tommy Morrison’s son Kenzie on November 9.

WBN has learned from a source that Williams was scheduled to face Morrison next month when he returns to action at Firelake Arena in Shawnee. However, promoter Tony Holden confirmed what WBN initially reported, namely that Williams had been offered for the fight.

BoxRec also briefly placed Williams within Morrison’s record on November 9, before removing the former British champion. Williams famously knocked out Mike Tyson in 2004, but has since lived off his victory despite losing his British license more than a decade ago.

Holden, who represents Morrison and is looking for an opponent for the competition in three weeks, explained the situation exclusively to WBN.

“I never confirmed William’s story and I never considered him,” Holden said. “I said no when a local promoter suggested it.”

Williams, 51, last fought in August 202, losing for the 33rd time in his career. With 88 professional fights under his belt, Williams seems unable to turn down a payday despite his advanced age.

Morrison, a power puncher who has stopped 19 of his 21 wins, will look for his next conquest elsewhere. The fight with Mike Balogun remains on the table for 2025 after it was postponed from its original October date.

Balogun, who knocked out Kenzi’s brother Trey in the first round, claimed Morrison was pulled from the fight to spare him the loss.

Holden denies this view.

“Even though this post isn’t up to my standards, I’m going to write it anyway. Mike Balogun falsely claimed that I pulled Kenzie Morrison out of the fight because I was afraid he would lose. Please allow me to correct you, Mr. Balogun,” he stated.

“The decision was not made by Kenzie. Let’s raise the stakes and make it fascinating. If you emerge victorious this month, Kenzie will fight in November.

“We may decide this early next year. If your confidence remains unshaken, we can place a significant bet. Watch Kenzie take revenge on her brother and end your career.

Balogun, a former San Francisco 49ers linebacker, responded to Holden by increasing his salary for a potential collision next year.

“No matter how fair and honorable your decision was, just remember that ‘yesterday’s price is not today’s price,’” said the 2010 undrafted pick.

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Andrew Moloney is confident that if given the chance, he would have beaten Phumelele Cafu and Kosei Tanaka

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Andrew Moloney (left) attacks Pedro Guevara – photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Few people were more disappointed than Andrew Moloney when Kosei Tanaka lost his WBO super flyweight belt to Phumelele Cafu at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Monday night.

The 33-year-old Australian veteran was hoping to get a shot at beating Tanaka in the lucrative Japanese market.

Those dreams were dashed when South Africa’s Cafu delivered the performance of his life, knocking out Tanaka in the fifth round and finishing the fight strongly, beating the four-weight world champion by split decision.

“The plan was to target the WBO and really chase the Tanaka fight, but it all fell apart on Monday night,” Moloney (26-4-1NC, 16 KO) told The Ring. “I think the WBO is probably still the direction we go, but I’m not sure if they have a rematch clause or if Tanaka will take it. But after watching the fight yesterday, I would be really confident that I could fight one of these guys and win. We would like to follow this path.

“I would love to fight Tanaka in Japan as a four-division world champion. He’s definitely someone I’ve looked up to and wanted to fight for a long time.

“Last night was a little hard to watch. The way he performed, I’m more confident than ever that I have what it takes to beat Tanaka.

I assume there will be a rematch and I hope that Tanaka will regain the belt and I will be able to return to the ring and climb the rankings, and maybe this fight will still happen.

Tanaka entered Moloney’s orbit four years ago when he debuted at 115 pounds. Earlier this year, it looked like they were also on a collision course, with Moloney being number one in the WBO rankings. However, when an offer was made for the vacant IBF lightweight title fight between Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. in May in Perth, Western Australia, Moloney felt he couldn’t turn her down.

This decision ended in disaster. Moloney faced Carlos Cuadras, who withdrew from the fight with a ruptured Achilles tendon and was replaced by Pedro Guevara. Moloney entered the fight with a torn bicep and was largely reduced to boxing with one hand, which circumscribed his punching power.

Still, Moloney felt he did more than enough to win, and was shocked when Guevara was declared the winner by split decision. He was so disappointed that he announced immediately after the fight that he was leaving the ring, but a few days later he withdrew these comments.

It was a breakthrough moment in his career.

“Looking back, it’s a wonderful thing, but watching the Tanaka-Cafu fight made me think that maybe I would do a lot of things if I could turn back time a little bit,” Moloney explained.

“Before my last fight, I was number one in the WBO rankings and I rejected the option of waiting to fight Tanaka. But the opportunity arose to fight Guevara in Australia for the interim WBC title on a major card, and to be candid, I kind of regretted that the Tanaka fight was hanging in the balance, but ultimately we decided to stay busy and take the opportunity to fight in Australia.

“Also, the injury before the fight was another thing I thought about: will I undergo surgery, keep the top spot and wait for Tanaka, but I made the decision to go ahead with the fight with Guevara. Looking back now, maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. And looking at the way Tanaka fought last night, I thought maybe I should have waited. I’m sure I could beat Tanaka and take the belt away from him.

“So I take some consolation, but unfortunately you can’t turn back time.”

It’s been a frustrating year for Moloney, but he’s still hitting the gym and his team is working to get him another fight. The window of opportunity to box again this year is closing quickly, but he still hopes to return to the ring in December, most likely in his native Australia.

“I really hope so,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been working on. I have been training strenuous at the gym for some time, quite a few months. I hope to return before the end of the year.

“At this stage it will probably be December. I’m trying to block something, but so far no luck. I’m still training away as if the fight was to take place in December, the team is currently working on it and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to finish it.

“I just hope we can get out before the end of the year, get back into the winner’s circle and start climbing the rankings again.”

Moloney, who fought at bantamweight for the first three years of his professional career before dropping down to super flyweight, surprisingly, said he would even consider moving up to another weight class given the right opportunity.

“It’s a tough time in the super flyweight division,” said Moloney, the eighth challenger to The Ring’s 115-pound title. “There’s a lot going on and it’s always strenuous to plan which route to take because everything changes so quickly. I’d pick Bam Rodriguez to beat Guevara, then there’s talk of a rematch between Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez on Up-to-date Year’s Eve. And then there’s talk of Bama, if they win, fighting the winner of that game in unification. The WBO seems to me the fastest way to win the title, so that’s the path we will follow.

“We have also rejected for some time the idea of ​​moving up to flyweight and getting crack there. There’s also some engaging scene going on there right now, but it’s still uncertain. I’d probably feel a little better at super flyweight, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Cafu and Tanaka, but like I said, I’d feel comfortable and confident against either of them, so hopefully he can make it it will happen sooner rather than later.”

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Boxing

Doubts that fuel 19-year-old Benjamin Johnson

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Despite an impressive amateur resume, welterweight Benjamin Johnson of Springdale, Maryland, enters the professional ring with a shoulder injury.

Johnson will face Kevin Pantoja in a four-round fight at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Maryland, promoted by his trainer Lamont Roach Snr’s NoXcuses Promotions. The fight will be broadcast on Saturday on ProBox TV.

Johnson, 1-0 (1 KO), spent just 2:23 in the ring in his professional debut, displaying the quick, aggressive hands that won him multiple national titles. However, 19-year-old Johnson feels an advantage, believing he is being overlooked by his NoXcuses Boxing Gym teammates.

Pantoja, 1-1, 27, has never stopped being a professional – Johnson aims to change that.

“People underestimate me,” Johnson said. “It’s been like that since I was an amateur.”

He added that this underestimation increases his motivation in the gym. Johnson is determined to prove his worth not only to himself, but also to those who doubt him or, worse, don’t recognize him. “I never felt like I was recognized as that guy, so I feel like I’m underappreciated,” Johnson said of his amateur and now professional career.

Johnson sees the fight as a key step in his career, compared to feared forward David Benavidez by some teammates and touted by others as one of the most ready-to-fight prospects in the country.

“I train as much as I can,” Johnson said. “It’s about making a statement. The way you win shows people what you’re capable of, and I’m ready to show my best.

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