Israil Madrimov wanted to redeem himself. Now, however, he dug himself an even deeper hole.

Fresh off a close unanimous decision loss to Terence Crawford, Madrimov could have rebuilt his name by taking on a soft touch. Instead, he opted for a date with Vergil Ortiz.

Although he was confident, Madrimov suffered his second consecutive defeat. Now, the triangle theory in boxing is taking place. You know what that means right? Well, since Ortiz beat Madrimov more impressively than Crawford did, fans believe that they’re connecting the dots. Meaning, if Ortiz and Crawford met in the ring, Ortiz would be the winner.

Those opinions, nevertheless, are simply false, explained Madrimov.

“Crawford is the top,” Madrimov told Seconds Out when asked who was the better fighter.

In all likelihood, the answer to that hypothetical showdown will never be answered. Crawford, The Ring’s No. 1 ranked 154-pounder and current junior middleweight champ, is seemingly washing his hands of the division and moving up in weight.

As first reported by The Ring, Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is set to pack on the muscle to take on Canelo Alvarez at 168 pounds in September. If he weren't dead set on his plans, Ortiz could have forced Crawford’s hand.

The 37-year-old has flirted with the idea of becoming an undisputed junior middleweight champion. Currently, Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs) holds the WBC’s interim strap and should be relatively close to challenging full titlist, Sebastian Fundora.

If he did and were successful, a collision course between them would be inevitable. That showdown, undoubtedly, is off the table but that didn’t stop Madrimov (10-2-1, 7 KOs) from breaking it down even further. In terms of why he believes Crawford would come out on top against Ortiz, he listed several attributes that would be in his favor.

“Crawford has power,” continued Madrrimov. “He has a high IQ, speed.”