Rudy Hernandez, a versatile figure in boxing known for his roles as a trainer, cutman and honest commentator, is making an unexpected prediction ahead of Saturday’s fight between Terence Crawford, making yet another move up in weight, at the age of 36, to face junior middleweight titleholder Israil Madrimov of Uzbekistan. Hernandez is picking Madrimov to win, despite Crawford being the healthy favorite among bookmakers.
Crawford-Madrimov headlines a stacked Saturday pay-per-view card at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Hernandez, who will be serving as a cutman for an MMA event in Nashville on Saturday, shared his thoughts on why he believes Madrimov (10-0-1, 5 KOs) will pull off the upset against Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs).
“For the first time, I’m going against Crawford,” Hernandez said. “I’ve always been a Crawford fan. I’ve always believed that he could, and would, win. But for the first time in his career, I’m picking him to lose on Saturday because he’s [almost] 37 years old and he hasn’t fought as often as he used to. You know, the saying goes that everything that goes up eventually goes down.”
Since 2020, Crawford has fought only once a year, with each bout occurring in the final quarter, save for his career-defining stoppage win over Errol Spence Jr. last July.
“I hope I’m wrong – but I’m hoping right, too,” Hernandez said. “His opponent also turns – he’s a left-hander, right-hander. He can switch, and I don’t think he does it as good as Crawford, but he’s 29 years old.”
Hernandez noted that Crawford, who turned pro in 2008 at lightweight, is a three-division titleholder, having held the lightweight title in 2014 and later becoming the undisputed champion at junior welterweight and welterweight. Madrimov is a career junior middleweight who has even fought stay-busy fights at middleweight. Hernandez again emphasized that Madrimov, the naturally bigger fighter, is also seven years younger than Crawford, who turns 37 in September.
“Remember, Crawford came from 135 pounds,” Hernandez said. “He was a junior welterweight at one time, and now he’s moving up to 154 pounds. As talented as Crawford is, the lack of activity in the last few years may mean he’s biting off more than he can handle.”
As consistently dominant as Crawford has been, Hernandez notes, very few fighters – even boxing’s undisputed greats – have been able to maintain an extended title run into their late 30s or beyond.
“I think he’s the fresher of the two,” Hernandez said of Crawford. “There was only one guy that I remember being a champion of the world and still a great fighter in his late 30s, and that was Luis Estaba. He won the light flyweight title when he was 38 or 39 years old, and he lost the belt at the age of 41. That is not a common thing. I think that the lack of activity for Crawford will show some signs of [him] getting a bit older. I mean, his attitude, his personality, everything is still there. Sometimes the body doesn’t cooperate like the mind.”
Lucas Ketelle is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). Contact him on X @LukieBoxing.