Crawford edges Madrimov in close fight to win title in 4th division
Makes successful jump to junior middleweight but it was very tough
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LOS ANGELES — Terence Crawford, viewed by many as the pound-for-pound king of boxing, got perhaps the toughest fight of his career from Israil Madrimov but did enough to win a close unanimous decision in his move up to 154 pounds on Saturday night at BMO Stadium.
Headlining a DAZN PPV card, Crawford won 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 to claim the WBA junior middleweight title and the vacant WBO interim belt before a crowd of about 23,000, capping an electric night that featured a stacked undercard, an upset in the co-feature, fireworks displays and music superstar Eminem — a Crawford fan — performing a few songs before the ring walks at the first Riyadh Season-backed card outside of Saudi Arabia.
Crawford, a former lightweight champion and undisputed junior welterweight and welterweight champion, won a world title in his fourth weight class and joined some elite company of fighters to have won titles at 135 pounds and at 154: Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya, Pernell Whitaker and Roberto Duran.
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