Terence Crawford beats Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision

LOS ANGELES — Terence “Bud” Crawford added another milestone to his considerable boxing legacy on Saturday, joining the ranks of four-division boxing world champions by claiming the WBA super welterweight title.

Capping nearly a nearly 10-hour boxing extravaganza at BMO Stadium presented under the Riyadh Season banner, Crawford (41-0, 32 KO) took a unanimous decision over Uzbekistan’s Israil Madrimov (10-1-1 7 KO).

Madrimov claimed the then-vacant WBA belt in the spring as part of Saudi Arabia’s push to consolidate the boxing industry. The Kingdom’s first international boxing venture arrived in L.A. this week ahead of an eight-bout card that was sold as one of the sport’s deepest events in years.

Fronted by Crawford, the 36-year-old Nebraskan who has flummoxed opponents since turning pro in 2008, the night included a performance by rapper Eminem and a steady stream of marketing for the Saudi project that is disrupting boxing much like the oil-rich nation’s recent moves into golf and soccer.

“We think this will not be the end,” said Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabi’s General Entertainment Authority and the person leading the country’s expanding interests in combat sports. “We will come again and again and again more in America.”

Crawford-Madrimov, the American’s first decision in his last 11 fights going back to 2016, was not a showstopper.

Judges Steve Weisfeld, Benoit Rossel and Fernando Villarreal scored it unanimously for Crawford, 116-112 and 115-113 twice.

Competing at 154 pounds for the first time, Crawford acknowledged a noticeable difference after competing at 147 since 2018. He appeared at least as large as Madrimov, and absorbed enough power punches to get a good taste of what his future may feel like.

Among the best in the world at figuring out his opposition in the ring, Crawford seemed slow to sort out Madrimov even though he said he did so from the get go.

Fighting in his natural southpaw stance for most of the bout, Crawford absorbed repeated right-hand leads that pierced his defense.

Midday through the contest, Crawford had some swelling under his right eye, but his output made up for Madrimov’s accuracy. By the end, Crawford’s eye was battered, the same as Madrimov’s left.

“I felt that each round was competitive but I felt that I was holding my own,” said Madrimov, who asked for a rematch.

Crawford highlighted Madrimov’s durability, and said that was something he expected after hearing about the fighter with an extensive amateur record while taking a trip to Uzbekistan.

“They were telling me so much about him,” Crawford said. “Real strong. He’s durable. Takes a lot of good shots and he got me to Round 12.”

The result kept talks alive of a mega-fight between Crawford and Canelo Alvarez at 168 pounds, which Alalshikh said he proposed to the Mexican great for February in Las Vegas or Saudi Arabia.

“I give him the offer,” Alalshikh said. “If he’s smart he will accept it.”

Saturday’s performance, however, could cast doubts in the minds of many people about the necessity for Crawford, one of the first fighters mentioned in pound-for-pound discussions, to jump up another 14 pounds.

Crawford doesn’t share those concerns.

“You know what I say: If the money’s right, you got a fight,” he said after the scores were read. “But at the same time he’s got a fight that he’s focused on. I’m gonna go back to my family, enjoy this win and enjoy all the accomplishments that I made in the sport of boxing.

“It’s not so important to me. It’s just another milestone to greatness, I suppose. And financially.”

Four months after capturing the WBA super lightweight world title, Mexico City’s Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz also found himself asking for a rematch.

Just not the one he wanted after the card’s co-main event.

Losing a compelling 12-round contest by split decision, Cruz passed the title to underdog Jose “El Rayo” Valenzuela, a lanky Mexican southpaw fighting out of Seattle, Wash., whose steady performance neutralized the 5-foot-4 Pitbull’s winging, reckless power punches.

“I didn’t get desperate,” Valenzuela said. “I didn’t fall under the pressure. I stayed calm.

“I felt great. I felt like I was in control the whole time using my footwork.”

Judges Rudy Barragan and Pat Russel saw it 116-112 for the new champion, while Eddie Hernandez dissented 115-113 in favor of Cruz, who had expected to set up a second clash with Gervonta Davis.

A redux against the current WBA lightweight world champion will have to wait thanks to Valenzuela, who used his length and patience to frustrate Cruz. Against his shorter foe, uppercuts repeatedly paid off. Valenzuela, 25, buckled Pitbull’s knees in the sixth round with one.

Ultimately, Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KO) connected with more power punches than Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KO) despite throwing fewer of them.

Returning to the ring after a two-year absence, former unified heavyweight world champion Andy Ruiz started strong. However his inactivity and a mangled right hand gave Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller the room he needed to turn around their 12-round affair, which ended in an anticlimactic majority draw (116-112, 114-114, 114-114).

Ruiz’s speed had helped him beat Anthony Joshua for the undisputed title at Madison Square Garden in 2019, and it was evident early standing opposite the 305-pound Miller.

Despite weighing 274 pounds — more than he has since the earliest stage of his career — the 34-year-old Ruiz (35-2-1, 22 KO), a native of Imperial Valley, Calif., landed quick hooks for the first third of the fight.

Miller, 36, of Brooklyn, New York, began to dictate the terms and dug into Ruiz’s pudgy body.

“I know I did enough,” said Miller (26-1-2 22 KO). “Threw more punches. It’s called effective aggression. He threw some clean shots that didn’t hurt me.

“There’s only one ‘Big Baby’ and that’s me.”

There were, in fact, two Big Baby’s on the eight-bout card.

Martin Bakole, 31, dropped the other one a trio of times before referee Jerry Cantu moved in to save Toledo’s Jared Anderson at 2:07 of Round 5. Bakole, the betting underdog, dished out power late in the first round when he snapped the head of the 24-year-old prospect with a compact uppercut.

Rising from the canvas after the first knockdown of his career, Anderson (17-1, 15 KO) showed heart but the formidable Bakole (21-1, 16 KO) was too much.

Bakole, a Congo-born heavyweight who lives in Scotland, pressed Anderson into the ropes and unleashed hammers to claim the WBO international heavyweight title alongside his NABF belt.

David Morrell (11-0, 9 KO) had a tougher than expected time with Serbian-born Radivoje “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic (29-3, 21 KO), but that did not prevent him from claiming the vacant WBA light heavyweight world title with scores of 118-110, 117-111, 117-111.

Another Cuban, Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz (4-0 2 KO), opened the pay-per-view undercard with a stoppage of veteran Antonio Moran (30-7-1 21 KO) to claim the IBF International and WBA Continental Latin-American lightweight titles at 2:59 of Round 7.