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The World Boxing Organization (WBO) has declared Terence Crawford's upcoming fight against Israil Madrimov on August 3 as an interim title bout, potentially leading to the victor holding two 154-pound titles.
The fight, set to take place in Los Angeles, will see Uzbekistan's Madrimov, the current WBA junior middleweight champion, face off against Crawford, the undefeated three-division champion and top pound-for-pound fighter.
The event, to be held at the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, is under the leadership of Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority.
This marks Alalshikh's debut in the U.S. boxing scene and is expected to feature an exciting undercard, possibly including Southern California's former world heavyweight champion, Andy Ruiz.
The decision to sanction the fight for the interim WBO title comes after the current WBO junior middleweight champion, Sebastian Fundora, suffered a broken nose in his recent victory over Tim Tszyu. Fundora, also the WBC 154-pound belt holder, is medically suspended until late September, and there are doubts about his return to the ring before December.
As a WBO "super" champion, Crawford has the right to seek a title shot in adjacent weight classes, and his decision to face Madrimov could lead to him holding the full WBO strap as well. However, if Fundora chooses to fight someone other than Crawford next, he may have to relinquish the belt or risk being stripped of it by the WBO board for not complying with its rules.