Israil Madrimov was added sooner rather than later to the card for the rematch between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev next February, taking advantage of the fact that Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis failed to fulfill his part of a previous agreement to move up to 153 pounds and face Vergil Ortiz Jr, so the fight fell apart to the disappointment of those boxing fans who were already looking forward to it.
So far so good, but it turns out that Madrimov is set to face Serhii Bohachuk on December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, so confusion began to reign around this and a possible fight against Ortiz.
Crawford has a “little health problem”
Last Wednesday, Turki Alalshikh tried to shed light on the confusion on Ariel Helwani and Ade Oladipo’s show on DAZN Boxing’s YouTube channel, and in the process made a revelation about Terence Crawford’s health, which is why he was not considered to settle the matter.
Alalshikh said Crawford was not yet ready for a return and that the WBO interim super welterweight champion will return later in 2025, because he is not training, as he has “a small health problem, he is a little injured, but he prefers to fight with us in May and after May,” he said.
“This is not football”: Manny Robles
Turki Alalshikh said that Sebastian Fundora was the first option after Ennis’ refusal, but PBC refused because they want to face him against Errol Spence Jr, and for this reason he decided to include Madrimov in the card, ignoring the fact that the boxer has a commitment two months earlier, to which Serhii Bohachuk’s trainer, Manny Robles, gave it his all to Turki Alalshikh in ‘Soloboxeo’: “He is a person who has no experience. I find it disrespectful and he has to understand that this is not soccer and you can not go ahead and announce a fight when it has not even been given the fight against Bohachuk.”
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