Crawford Returns To MSG This December

For the second year in a row, ESPN will bring live boxing to Madison Square Garden following the Heisman Trophy Presentation.

Unlike in 2018, this event headlined by WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford will take place inside the main portion of MSG, instead of the Hulu Theater, which hosted a Vasyl Lomachenko’s fight against Jose Pedraza.

Crawford returns to the Garden since his April win over Amir Khan to battle mandatory challenger Egidijus Kavaliauskas on December 14th headlining a tripleheader that will see the IBF lightweight title on the line as Richard Commey goes up against New York native Teofimo Lopez, and Michael Conlan returns to the Garden to fight Vladimir Nikitin in a rematch of their 2016 Olympic showdown.

“This is the best fight card of the year, and Madison Square Garden is a fitting venue for what will be a special night,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “Terence Crawford is a generational talent, but he’ll have his hands full against the ‘Mean Machine.’ Teofimo Lopez is taking a giant step up against Commey, and it will be a tremendous fight. Mick Conlan has been asking for Nikitin since the day he signed with Top Rank. He finally gets his wish, and I know he wants to correct the tremendous injustice of the Rio Olympics.”

“Egidijus Kavaliauskas is a two-time Olympian and I can’t take him lightly,” Crawford said. “He’s got everything to gain and nothing to lose and that makes him dangerous. I never overlook any opponent, and this will be no exception. I’ll be ready for anything and everything he brings on December 14 when I return to my second home, Madison Square Garden, and live on ESPN.”

“I have prepared my whole boxing career for a fight of this magnitude,” Kavaliauskas said. “Terence Crawford is an excellent fighter, but I fear no man. Nobody has seen the best of the ‘Mean Machine’ yet. I am going to shock a lot of people on December 14, but it won’t be a surprise to me. I earned this title shot. It is my time.”