Terence Crawford becomes four-division world champion as Martin Bakole knocks out Jared Anderson

Terence Crawford defeated Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision to become a four-division world champion as Martin Bakole sent a message to his heavyweight rivals with a stunning knockout win over Jared Anderson on Saturday.

Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) clinched the WBA super welterweight title in his first fight at 154 pounds, taking it 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 on the judges’ scorecards.

It was Crawford’s first fight since stopping Errol Spence Jr in July 2023 to become the undisputed welterweight champion, having also won titles at super lightweight and lightweight.

Madrimov (10-1-1) acquitted himself well on the highest-profile stage to date for the 29-year-old from Uzbekistan.

The win potentially lines up a blockbuster showdown between Crawford and Canelo Alvarez.

“You know what I say, if the money is right, we got to fight,” Crawford said immediately after the fight.

It started out as a cautious affair, with both fighters trying to establish position and feel out the other through the first three rounds.

That approach did not agree with the sold-out crowd at BMO Stadium. Having dealt with blazing temperatures and sunshine for most of the long card at the outdoor home of Major League Soccer team LAFC, they responded with jeers and whistles.

Crawford turned on the pressure in the fourth round, just missing on a fierce right hand in the closing seconds.

Madrimov was energised in the fifth round after Crawford slipped and ended up on his backside, responding with a series of aggressive punches to put the Nebraska native on the defensive.

That flurry sent Crawford back into a careful posture for most of the next two rounds before landing a rare effective combination to the body late in the seventh.

Madrimov re-established momentum with three straight right hands to the face in the eighth round. Crawford landed a shot of his own, forcing Madrimov to clench and break momentum and allowing him to come back with a right hook.

The action picked up over the next two rounds, with both fighters seemingly trying to land power punches instead of trying to string together longer periods of control.

Crawford came on in the last 30 seconds of the 11th round. The flurry fuelled him and carried over to the 12th and final round as he pushed for a 12th straight win by knockout. Both missed on wild throws in the final minutes, but it was Crawford who emphatically raised both gloves in the air when the bout concluded.

Bakole stops Anderson

Bakole continued his march towards the world’s leading heavyweights as he halted the progress of American hope Anderson with an emphatic stoppage victory.

The 31-year-old dropped Anderson in the opening round with a fierce uppercut before flooring him twice more in the fifth until the referee was forced to step in and wave off the fight.

With the win Bakole moves to 21-1 while handing Anderson the first defeat of his professional career to leave him 17-1.

“You don’t stand with Martin Bakole. I am a big man and I am a machine,” said Bakole in his interview in the ring post-fight.

“I’m a machine. I’m in this sport to take over. I want to be No 1. No one wants to fight me but with His Excellency [Turki Alashikh], I know that i can get any fight I want.”

Elsewhere on the night Jose Valenzuela (14-2) won the WBA super lightweight title by split decision over Isaac Cruz (26-3-1) in the co-main event.

Valenzuela secured identical 116-112 scores from two judges, while Cruz received a 115-113 mark from the third.

Cruz said afterwards he would push for an immediate rematch.

Jarrell Miller (27-1-2) meanwhile fought Andy Ruiz Jr (35-2-1) to a majority draw despite controlling the fight earlier on the undercard.

One judge scored it 116-112 in Miller’s favour, while the other two each gave 114-114 tallies.

Ruiz, the former heavyweight champion competing for the first time since September 2022, said in the post-fight interview that he broke his right hand.