Israil Madrimov says he’s ready for shot at Jeison Rosario’s titles

Undefeated knockout machine Israil Madrimov battered his way into the #2 spot on the WBA’s super welterweight rankings in just five pro fights, and now the Uzbek bruiser says he’s ready for a shot at IBF/WBA “super” champion Jeison Rosario.

“I’m ready now to fight for a world title fight,” Madrimov said. “I want to face the WBA champion Jeison Rosario next, he had a great victory over Julian Williams but I’m very confident I can beat him. I will aim for a world title fight when boxing returns and I am more motivated than ever.”

“Israil continues to prove that he is one of the most exciting young stars in international boxing,” manager Vadim Kornilov added. “While many of boxing’s biggest names are over 30 years of age, Israil is only 25 and already has the skills and experience to fight for a world title fight against a champion as talented as Jeison Rosario. Our goal is to give Israil the biggest fights possible.”

Madrimov (5-0, 5 KO), a two-time Asian Games medalist training under Joel Diaz, debuted in November of 2018 and has faced tougher fare than your average prospect during his time in the paid ranks. His last two fights saw him blow up Alejandro Barrera in five and take out Charlie Navarro in six; the second fight was ostensibly some sort of eliminator, but it’s not clear which of the three WBA super welterweight champions he has dibs on.

WBA secondary “world” champ Erislandy Lara, whom Madrimov said he wanted to fight, and “gold” champ Michel Soro are presumably slated to go at it at some point, but Rosario is hypothetically available thanks to Julian Williams passing on a rematch. That said, IBF #1 contender Bakhram Murtazaliev may have dibs.

At least they’ve got plenty of time to resolve this.