‘He can hurt him’: Diaz talks keys to victory for Madrimov facing Crawford

Israil Madrimov puts his belt on the line against Terence Crawford who’s making the move up to junior middleweight.

Ahead of Israil Madrimov’s 154 lb title defense against Terence Crawford, his trainer Joel Diaz speaks to Fight Hub TV about their preparations for the fight and what Madrimov will need to do in order to beat Crawford. Check out some excerpts of what he had to say on the fight below.

On how he’s preparing Madrimov to face Crawford

“It’s not easy. It’s not easy because Terence Crawford, he’s a technician, man. He’s very smart, he has a lot of confidence in himself...I’ve always said to me he’s pound-for-pound best fighter of this era. And I’ve seen him early in his career when he had six fights, Cameron Dunkin had just signed him, when he came to camp to help me spar Bradley for two camps. So I know enough but it’s not easy.

“At this point I just think that Israil, he’s very disciplined, he’s a solid 154-pounder, younger, and he has similar tools as Terence Crawford. Maybe he has not been at the stage but we’re preparing him mentally because it’s not going to be an easy task. We got to be ready for Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C if necessary.”

On how he can prepare Madrimov for Crawford’s Ring IQ

“His ring IQ is obviously above a lot of fighters and it’s hard to prepare for that, as you can see...we have to prepare for everything, like I said...and we know that his confidence can overwhelm you so we got to be ready for that. We have to keep that mentality and that focus that ‘he’s going to be there’ and at some point you might think you’re hurting him and he’s not hurt, and as much as you try he’s always going to be in front of you and he’s always going to be in full control.

“We know that we have to prepare for that, Israil knows who he’s stepping against, and we just have to stick to the game plan and be smart the whole fight.”

On whether Madrimov needs to physically impose his naturally bigger size on Crawford

“No, not necessarily. You know, round by round we have to make adjustments...We’re going to have to base on making adjustments round by round and just keep him very focused and keep him steady in the fight and keep reminding him that ‘hey, round by round, you need to make a switch’ and those switches are going to be very important.”

On what kind of fight he expects it to be

“We’re going to see a very complicated fight in the early rounds, just until we try to figure out Crawford. But I know that if everything goes well and the plan is followed by Israil, based on our plan of attack by the fifth, sixth round, once Israil already got his timing and distance, he can hurt him.”

On what Madrimov has to do to win

“I know that we have to put in the extra work, for sure. Preparing for a fight against the best fighter pound-for-pound, and against the favorite fighter by all odds, we know that we have to work a little extra. So everything is based on what Crawford brings to the table from the beginning, if he’s going to come forward or if he’s going to box. That’s what’s going to determine the fight because if Israil has to go look for him — obviously we have to put the pressure and elevate the volume, but if we have to box him we’re going to do it in smart fashion because Israil is a great boxer. He can move, he can make Crawford make mistakes and counter him.

“But I just think that either or, this fight is going to end up going the distance and I just think Israil is going to be the more effective fighter because he’s really sharp with his defense, I don’t think Crawford has the speed to catch Israil because his sparring partners are fast and his defense is on point. So Israil is going to be really sharp on defense and explosive with his power.”