Crawford Survives Kavaliauskas, Lopez Manhandles Commey
Terence Crawford was hit hard and troubled by Egidijus Kavaliauskas, but “Bud” weathered the storm to finish him off and retain the WBO welterweight championship.
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— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) December 15, 2019
The fight headlined a Top Rank Boxing card at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The opening round of Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas saw the two men feel each other out to start, with Crawford using his jab, and Kavaliauskas landing a noted combination in round two.
But Kavaliauskas turned heads and had all the eyes on the action in the third round, when he landed a right hand that stunned Crawford. Crawford tried to storm back over the next couple of rounds, and while he got back on the front foot, he was continuing to eat power from the challenger.
A pound-for-pound star and an undefeated challenger.
What else did you expect? We've got a firefight in The Garden!!#CrawfordMachine | ESPN pic.twitter.com/meaeWFM8bo
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) December 15, 2019
But Crawford began to take back momentum in the sixth round, which saw Crawford crack Kavaliauskas with a hard right hook. After both men shook up each other in the seventh, Crawford rocked Kavaliauskas with a right hook before the end of the eighth.
Crawford went right on the attack, however, quickly dropping Kavaliauskas three times in nearly immediate succession before the referee waved the bout off.
Crawford, however, was the only champion to retain his belt.
It was an easy night for Teofimo Lopez to claim boxing gold, as he stopped Richard Commey in relatively easy fashion to win the IBF lightweight championship.
(don’t worry, we didn’t forget your backflip content)
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— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) December 15, 2019
After an even first round, Lopez dropped Commey quickly in the second before finishing him off with a barrage of punches against the ropes.
With the win, Lopez now seems aimed for a unification showdown with WBA (Super)/WBO/WBC (Franchise) champion Vasyl Lomachenko.
#PhotoOfTheFight: The Takeover is here. Now is this what y'all want??#CrawfordMachine | ESPN | @GEICO pic.twitter.com/42d6v74cBz
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) December 15, 2019
The night opened with Michael Conlan gaining revenge on 2016 Olympics rival Vladimir Nikitin, as Conlan won on all three judges’ scorecards in a near sweep of their 10-round clash.
WBO welterweight championship: (c.) Terence Crawford def. Egidijus Kavaliauskas via TKO (Rd. 9, 0:44)
IBF lightweight championship: Teofimo Lopez def. (c.) Richard Commey via TKO (Rd. 2, 1:13)
Michael Conlan def. Vladimir Nikitin via unanimous decision (98-92, 99-91, 100-90)