Terrence Crawford extended his unbeaten record on Saturday after delivering a sixth-round knockout win over David Avanesyan, retaining his WBO welterweight title as well. The match, which took place in Crawford’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, marked his sixth successful welterweight title defence as well as his 10th straight knockout, making it a total of 30 wins by knockout.
Crawford entered the fight having not fought in over a year, unlike his Russian opponent, who had a win earlier this year. From the first round, Crawford had the fight under control as he did his best to shake off attempts by Avanesyan to displace him. A lunging overhand right from Avanesyan failed to slow Crawford a bit as he responded with a left-right hook combination before the round came to an end.
Similar attempts by Avanesyan in the remaining rounds to gain control of the fight proved abortive as Crawford was determined to prove, once again, that he was the true king of the welterweight division and was not going to let the belt slip away, at least not yet.
It was in the sixth round that the real damage was done. After being asked to adjust his gloves, Crawford came back with a series of left-handed uppercuts, which were doing quite the number on Avanesyan’s body. But a left hook-right hook combo was what sent Avanesyan to the ground, bringing the fight to an end.
Even before the fight began, it was a bit clear that it would only go one way, with Crawford emerging victorious. Avanesyan is not one to underestimate and against anybody else, he would have been amazing, but he stood no chance against the American.
Speaking after the fight, Crawford still expressed his interest in fighting Errol Spence Jr. and said that he was hopeful they could finally fix a fight in 2023 after a fixture between them was unable to hold this year.
Leon Osamor
