LOS ANGELES — A packed and chaotic weigh-in has wrapped between future Hall of Famer Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov. While there were no surprises on the scales, there were interesting moments from fans, media and the assorted boxers squeezed into LA Live.
- CRAWFORD STILL BE A MONSTER AT 154
Every boxer has a weight limit on their abilities but don’t expect it to be super welterweight for Bud Crawford. Seeing him in person, he’s completely filled out and chiseled. Despite his thrashing of Errol Spence last year, most forget Crawford looked rough on the scales with a sunken face. Without a hard weight cut this time around, Crawford will likely hold a speed and timing advantage per his experience versus quicker fighters from lightweight through welterweight.
The one question mark is how Bud’s chin handles Madrimov’s power and inside fighting. However, Crawford’s history has shown he gets nastier whenever his chin gets rocked.
PREDICTION: Crawford late round stoppage after some explosive early exchanges.
Bonus picks from former champs Antonio Tarver and Zab Judah.
2. PITBULL CRUZ’S STAR POWER WILL CATAPULT AFTER RAYO
Pitbull Cruz has received the largest reaction from all the fighters I’ve observed. Fans followed him and his team through the lobby before and after the weigh-in. Aside from the main event, Cruz has the most to gain from a great performance. If Shakur Stevenson and Tank Davis can’t come to terms for November, Pitbull would be right there for an intriguing rematch should he dominate and/or stop Rayo. And based on styles, I’m heavily favoring Pitbull to have one of the night’s best performances in slugfest that features a Round of the Year candidate.
PREDICTION: Rayo showed the ability to patiently box in his rematch destruction of Chris Colbert. This time, I expect Pitbull’s pressure to make Rayo revert to his baser instincts and begin trading. And in a battle of chins, I’m leaning towards Cruz’s superior inside fighting to have him landing harder and cleaner in route to dramatic KO by the seventh.
3. ANDY RUIZ GETS BACK ON TRACK AGAINST BIG BABY MILLER
Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller has been one of the few fighters willing to engage all levels of media during fight week. And thus far, he’s said all the rights things. Coming in a shade over 300 pounds, his lowest weigh-in since 2018, reflects training camp was taken seriously. He also took a moment to verbally spank young contender Jared Anderson over their shared nickname.
Still, resume matters and there’s a chasm-wide gap between their competition levels. Unless Ruiz has fallen off a cliff, the ring rust shouldn’t put Ruiz in serious danger come Saturday night:
PREDICTION: Ruiz shakes off a cautious start to batter Miller down the stretch for a late stoppage. Ruiz has walked through the firepower of bigger punchers than Miller. And more importantly, Ruiz’s hands will be too fast for Miller to handle.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 