Sunday Convo: Crawford vs Madrimov- The Fight, Event & More

On Saturday night in downtown Los Angeles, CA, Riyadh Season made their U.S. debut with a WBA junior middleweight title fight between Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) & Israil Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs). The question going into the event at the BMO stadium was whether the event and/or fight would deliver after so many resources were allocated to ensure everyone knew the fight was happening on Saturday night. FightsATW was there live for the event, and it had so many different elements, both positive and negative.

The Mess Surrounding The Media

After what was a media week that had some unique challenges to it (limited seating at the Chinese Theater Press Conference, no power or tables at the Santa Monica Pier fight for media on Wednesday, etc.), Friday night was left for me to focus on all of the fights that were approaching the very next day. However, an email from Matchroom’s PR came in at 11 pm PT, letting those approved for credentials know there were some “technical difficulties” and that media seating was not confirmed for the event. For those who don’t know, these events usually have a section with tables for most approved media with power sources, especially those covering the fights on a deadline at or near ringside.

On fight day, ten minutes before the opening of the media distribution center, another email was sent out by Matchroom PR saying that “select” media would be allowed to sit at the press box near the top of the BMO (far from the ring), and the others would just get a ticket to the fight. That didn’t go over well with most media. Amy Kaplan from FanSided decided to go back to her hotel, as the trip she had already made from Las Vegas, NV was not worth the chance of being in a seat and not being able to work (seated media would have to leave their bags in their vehicles as they would be a standard patron).

I was given a bracelet as FightsATW didn’t make the cut of being the “select media” allowed to be on the floor (with electrical outlets at the table) and getting content from all of the different fighters and promoters in attendance while also covering the fight. The press box was air-conditioned and had food with snacks, which was good, but after driving for 2 hours and paying 80 dollars in parking, I was better off just watching it from the comfort of my home as I watched the fight from the big screen. Most promotions will cover the parking for media and have designated areas to work from on the floor, but that was not the case last night.

Crawford vs. Madrimov Was Technically Good But Not An Exciting Fight

Although all of the social media posts and Eddie Hearn from Matchroom Boxing said the event was sold out, when the bell rang to start the fight, there were many empty seats in the stands, which reflected what was available on Ticketmaster hours before the fight. Regardless, everyone was excited and anticipating a great fight, which we kind of got, but not the type that would win over the casual fans in attendance who wanted their pound of flesh.

I know Madrimov had respect for Crawford, but it felt like he gave up most of the first six rounds. That hurt Madrimov tremendously and when he sees the fight again, he will regret showing Crawford too much respect. Madrimov was doing some brilliant feinting and movement, which puzzled Crawford, but the former undisputed welterweight champion did enough to win the rounds by touching his opponent with a right jab and mixing in some hard body shots. Madrimov would finally start rallying during the second half of the fight, but by then, Crawford had already established himself and knew taking any significant risks wouldn’t bode well for him. Crawford finished strong in the last round, which won him the fight. The judges scored it 116-112, 115-113 & 115-113 for Crawford, so winning the last round avoided a majority draw, which would have seen Madrimov keep his title had he pressed in the 12th round.

Although Madrimov feels like he is owed a rematch, there isn’t any possibility of that happening next. Turki Alalshikh wants to do Crawford vs. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in February, but if that doesn’t work out, he wouldn’t mind seeing Crawford and Vergil Ortiz if Ortiz wins on Saturday night. Although there has been plenty of talk about a Canelo vs. Crawford fight, the new WBA junior middleweight champion isn’t putting all his chips on the Canelo fight and will just wait and see what happens next.

Was Riyadh Season A Success In LA?

If you ask the fans who attended the event, more than half will tell you that some changes must be made before returning for another Riyadh Season event. Fans on social media posted that a beer cost you $27, and that was after waiting in line for 30 minutes. The parking was anywhere from $80-100 dollars, and the event itself was too long (7 ½ hours). Although the Eminem concert was a nice touch, at that time, it made the event even longer, and those on the East Coast were either asleep or falling asleep as the main event began closer to 1 am ET.

Like anything new that comes out, you never buy the first version of it, and with Riyadh Season, the hope is that the after-action report is thoroughly completed so that they don’t make the same mistakes they did on Saturday night. Also, on the surface, it appears that major boxing events are handled differently in the UK than they are in the U.S., so they may have to consider allowing Top Rank, PBC, or Golden Boy to run the show as they are more familiar with the landscape and the different challenges that come with it.

Overall, it was a solid show as the undercard fights brought out some roars from the crowd, but if Turki wants to continue to do business here, he has to look hard at what how to do these U.S. shows and lean on those with the experience here to guide him through that process for it to be a success.

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

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