Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford retained his WBO world welterweight title with a vicious knockout victory over David Avanesyan in Omaha.
Crawford secured victory with a left uppercut-right hook combination in round six, knocking Avanesyan out.
Avanesyan started brightly, landing a big overhand right on the champion in the first round, Crawford, who is known for switching stances, changed to southpaw following Avanesyan’s success.
The champion began to settle into the fight, leading with his right hand. However, Avanesyan continued to have success as he successfully walked the American down.
The fifth round saw Crawford turn the screw, as he increased his punch output. But it would be in round six when he found the closing sequence, as he knocked Avanesyan out with a brutal left uppercut-right hook combination, leaving the Russian laid out on the canvas.
Bud Crawford gets the KO in the 6th pic.twitter.com/hXF3VCJFfT
— Boxing SB (@BoxingSB22) December 11, 2022
The champion secured his 10th consecutive knockout and explained the closing moments of the fight to promoters, BLK Prime:
“I started picking up the pace, planting my feet and I caught him with a hook.”
‘Bud’ vaguely answered what his intentions were going forward:
“This was a one-fight deal [with BLK Prime].
“Hopefully, we can go to the drawing board and these big fights come about in the near future.”
Crawford’s main rival in the welterweight division, IBF, WBA and WBC champion Errol Spence Jr, was involved in a car crash on Saturday night, as Spence Jr posted a clip to Instagram of him at the scene.
Errol Spence on Instagram live just now after emerging unharmed from a car crash in which he was hit by a 14-year-old who took his parents’ car…
[📽️ @ErrolSpenceJr] pic.twitter.com/Q0HFI2Zq4q
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) December 11, 2022
When told about the crash, Crawford said:
“I wish him well. I hope he’s alright – mentally, physically and emotionally.
“This is just a sport. We’re all fighting for that number one spot, so it ain’t personal. It’s just business.”