Terence Crawford faced Egidijus Kavaliauskas last night at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Crawford stopped the challenger in nine rounds, but it was far from an easy night.
The champ started out strong in the first two rounds. Working behind a jab, with Kavaliauskas seemingly hesitant to let his own hands go. However, in round three that would change. Kavaliauskas landed a right hand making Crawford hold, Kavaliauskas followed up with several more shots. Crawford appeared to go down to a knee, however the referee ruled it a slip. The challenger would continue his assault in the next few rounds. By round seven it was clearly a dog fight with Crawford taking more punishment than anyone has seen prior.
Yet, the tied turned once again in round eight, with Crawford landing a huge right uppercut, putting the challenger on shaky ground. In round nine Crawford continued his own assault flooring Kavaliauskas no less than three times before the referee called a halt to the fight.
What’s next for Terence Crawford? That is the tougher question. With a fair share of champions in the division signed to Premiere Boxing Champions a marquee bout has eluded Crawford. There is always Manny Pacquiao who also fights under Top Rank, but why would Bob Arum cannibalize his own stable. Perhaps Crawford having shown some vulnerability in this outing will be enough to lure another big name in the ring with him. In the meantime check out the highlights here.