Terence Crawford declares himself king of the 154-pound division ahead of WBA title fight against Israil Madrimov

Terence Crawford will face off against WBA super welterweight champion Israil Madrimov in a highly anticipated clash this weekend. 'Bud' will be making his divisional debut, having conquered the welterweight division in 2023.

Despite his newcomer status at 154 pounds, the Nebraska native has declared himself the king of the division ahead of his bout with Madrimov. Crawford is viewed by many as the No.1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world and is full of confidence ahead of his world title clash.

Both men will enter the ring undefeated, but the former undisputed welterweight champion has vastly more professional experience. Crawford's record is 40-0 compared to his opponent's, who is currently 10-0-1.

Following the ceremonial weigh-ins held on 2 Aug., the title challenger was interviewed by DAZN. Having dominated the lightweight, light welterweight, and welterweight divisions, he was asked if he believed he could conquer the 154-pound division. He replied:

"I'm already the best in the world at [154 pounds] when I stepped into the division... How many gold medalists, silver medalists, Olympians that I've beaten? A lot of them have decorated amateur pedigrees, [but] they all left the same way. I'm looking forward to him leaving the same way again."

Watch Terence Crawford's interview below:

---

Shakur Stevenson labels Terence Crawford "crazy" for facing Israil Madrimov in his 154-pound debut

Terence Crawford made history by becoming the first male boxer to win undisputed world titles in two weight divisions after defeating Errol Spence Jr. via TKO to become undisputed welterweight champion in 2023.

Having previously become the undisputed light welterweight champion, 'Bud' is eager to become the undisputed king of the 154-pound division. He will begin his campaign against a tough matchup in Israil Madrimov.

Madrimov's promoter, Eddie Hearn, has predicted his client to cause a major upset on 3 Aug.. However, Crawford's teammate, Shakur Stevenson, has shared a different prediction.

During a recent interview with Boxing News, Stevenson said this:

"I already know 'Bud' is crazy. Every time I look at him I think he's a crazy guy. But making this decision to come up and fight [Madrimov] just proves to me how crazy he is." [0:38-0:48]

He continued:

"[Madrimov] is a tough fighter, I've seen him in the amateurs, definitely a tough guy... We've seen 'Bud' move up from 135, to 140 to 147 [pounds]. This ain't nothing new... I expect him to go in there and do what he's been doing." [2:55-3:58]

Watch Stevenson discuss Terence Crawford below: