Terence Crawford reveals that his original target for his next fight was WBC/WBO Junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora, not WBA 154-lb champ Israil Madrimov.
Crawford mentions that someone in Fundora’s career made the decision to pursue a fight with Errol Spence instead of him, leading Crawford to look for another champion at 154.
Despite stating that he’s not upset with Fundora for changing his mind about fighting him, Crawford does express a hint of bitterness because Fundora was the fighter he wanted to face.
Madrimov, while an excellent champion, is not as well-known in the U.S. as Fundora. Crawford’s upcoming fight against Madrimov on August 3rd will only involve one title at stake, rather than two if he had fought Fundora.
Following his impressive upset victory over WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu, Fundora gained attention in his last fight in March in Las Vegas, which was broadcast on Prime Video PPV at the T-Mobile Arena.
Crawford believes that a fight against Fundora would have garnered more publicity than his upcoming bout against Madrimov, who communicates mainly through an interpreter and has limited English skills. Madrimov’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has not invested as heavily in promoting him as he has with Anthony Joshua.
When asked about his decision to face Israil Madrimov instead of Fundora, Crawford explained, “That’s who initially we were going to try and fight, but he said he wasn’t going to be able to fight this year, and we wanted the fight this year. So, we had to go to the next best option, and that’s Israil.”
Crawford seems frustrated that Fundora chose to fight Spence instead of him, given Spence’s greater drawing power and successful PPV events. He acknowledges that fighters like Fundora make decisions based on their best interests business-wise.
While Crawford understands the business aspect of Fundora’s decision-making, he can’t help but feel slighted by being passed over for a fight. Nevertheless, he wishes success for both Fundora and Spence in their upcoming bout.
Despite feeling a bit bitter about the situation, Crawford acknowledges the opportunity he has been given and is focused on making the most of it in his fight against Madrimov.
If His Excellency Turki Alalshikh wanted to challenge Crawford, he would have presented tougher opponents like Boots Ennis, David Morrell, or David Benavidez as options to earn a lucrative payday against Canelo Alvarez.
