The World Boxing Association has confirmed that Terrence Crawford (40-0, 30 KOs) will be allowed to defend his WBA welterweight title before his fight against Israel Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) on 3 of August at the BMO Arena in Los. Angeles.
Crawford-Madrimov was endorsed by Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn and Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the Saudi Arabian Entertainment Authority, in a press conference in New York on Wednesday.
The fight on August 3 will be Alalshikh’s first time boxing outside of Saudi Arabia. Crawford currently holds three of his four welterweight world titles and has made no secret of his desire to move up to welterweight following his fight against Errol Spence Jr.
Madrimov captured the vacant title last month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, knocking out Magomed Kurbanov in the fifth round.
Jermell Charlo is the former champion at 154 pounds and previously held the WBA title. He was uncontested until last September, when he challenged Saul Canelo Alvarez at 168 pounds, and the WBO stripped Charlo of his title on fight day.
The WBA officially stripped Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs) of his WBA title in March but retained him as the “champion in retirement,” giving Charlo the right to choose when asking for a championship opportunity for his old belt. Reports circulated last week about Crawford’s fight with Madrimov, with Charlo’s promoter, Tom Brown, writing to the WBA explaining that his junior middleweight fighter would return, and that he would like to fight against Madrimov for the title.
WBA Rules Terence Crawford Can Maintain 147 Title Through Aug. 3 Bout https://t.co/bLap4bkG9i
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After confirming Crawford Madrimov’s weight at 154 pounds on Wednesday, the WBA released an official announcement clarifying the situation.
If Crawford succeeds in capturing the WBA junior middleweight world title, he will have five days to decide which weight class he wants to compete in next, as the rules prohibit holding the title of the world in two weight classes.
The WBA also confirmed that the winner of the Crawford-Madrimov fight should face the official challenger of the authorized group, Virgil Ortiz Jr. (20-0, 20 KOs).
Ortiz is scheduled to face Tim Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) in the Crawford-Madrid Movka, with the WBA junior title a bonus for the champion added to this fight. The WBA also accepted Charlo’s status as “champion of the season” in an official decision.
Full text of the resolution released by the WBA:
“With the official announcement of the fight between Israel Madrimov and Terrence Crawford, the World Boxing Committee (WBA) has issued a statement regarding Crawford’s special approval to move up to the [Junior Welterweight] division. ] situation that results in a decision.
“[Junior middleweight champion] Crawford will move to the next level to challenge champion Madrimov on August 3 in Los Angeles. The American asked for permission to move forward and defend his crown welterweight, and the committee accepted. The offer came as he beat Madrimov, and he decided which title to defend within five days of the fight.
“Vergil Ortiz Jr., on the other hand, is the top contender in the division and thus has the chance to fight Tim Tzsyu of Australia for the interim belt. In addition, Jermall Charlo was confirmed as the champion during the season, and if the fight ends in pay, the American will have the right to face the Madrimov-Crawford champion , or Madrimov.
“The office formally informs everyone involved in this project of their obligation to understand the WBA rules. This decision supersedes all previous rules, and any situations that arise will be resolved by the interpretation of those laws.”
