Israil
Madrimov

Nicknamed ‘The Dream’, Israil Madrimov’s combination of a slick style and concussive punch power is a nightmare for his opponents.

Madrimov stopped his first five opponents in the paid ranks to launch into World title contention at Super-Welterweight, with his sixth fight against Eric Walker in Tulsa in August 2020 a final eliminator for the WBA title.

The Uzbek star won the WBA Inter-Continental title on his pro debut in November 2018, joining the paid ranks after a standout amateur career that saw him win the 2017 Asian Championships and 2018 Asian Games.

The 29-year-old, who is ranked #1 with the WBA at 154lbs, ticked over with a dominant victory over a tough Raphael Igbokwe at Middleweight before landing his World Title shot on Joshua-Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March 2024. Ordered to fight 25-0 Magomed Kurbanov for the vacant 154lb title, Madrimov took out the Russian fighter in round five to win a World Title after just 11 fights.

Madrimov made the first defence of his World Title against no other than Pound-For-Pound ruler Terence Crawford. After becoming Undisputed at 147, Crawford opted to move up another weight class to face Madrimov for the WBA World Super Welterweight Title. In an extremely close fight, headlining the first ever Riyadh Season Card in the US in August 2024, Madrimov fell short on the cards to lose his title.

The Dream jumped straight into another monster fight, this time against KO artist Vergil Ortiz in Riyadh in February 2025. Madrimov started well but eventually succumbed to a UD points defeat, his second loss in a row.