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Israil Madrimov turned pro just over 10 months ago, but the 24-year-old Uzbek junior middleweight is already starting to make his mark, coming in against more seasoned foes than most prospects do, and stopping them all.
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He kept the streak alive tonight at Madison Square Garden, putting away veteran Alejandro Barrera in the fifth round when referee Benjy Esteves Jr stepped in to stop an increasingly one-sided fight.
Barrera (29-6, 18 KO) had some moments, particularly int he third round, landing some good uppercuts. But Madrimov’s power was too much very quickly, as he dropped Barrera in the opening round and looked set to cruise to a victory, which he ultimately did, more or less.
Madrimov (4-0, 4 KO) is in an odd spot where he might not quite be ready to take on even legitimate fringe contenders at 154, but he’s also proven he’s beyond the level of Barrera or Frank Rojas. So we might seem him in something of a holding pattern for a while here, which would understandably get boring for fans, but would also allow the young fighter to continue fine-tuning his game, which he does need to do.