Terence Crawford To Face David Avanesyan In December

Terence Crawford’s next fight won’t be against Errol Spence Jr.

News broke late Thursday night that, instead, the WBO welterweight champion, Crawford, will fight ranked welterweight David Avanesyan on December 10 in the champion’s native Omaha, Nebraska.

But, according to ESPN, Crawford is still in talks to face Spence for the undisputed welterweight championship. However, Crawford revealed that he wanted to stay active by fighting at least once in 2022.

“I’m excited about this opportunity,” Crawford said.

“I was really looking forward to the Errol Spence fight. I started communicating with [boxing manager] Al Haymon and PBC back in June. And unfortunately, they represent a fighter in Errol Spence who didn’t want the fight as bad as I did.

“I agreed to all of their [B.S.] and they’ve been dragging their ass for months. Spence was nowhere to be found while I was trying to make the deal,” Crawford continued.

“I explained to Al Haymon and Errol that I was going to fight before the end of the year. … David Avanesyan is a very tough task. He’s knocked out his last six opponents and this guy is dangerous. Once I’m successful against Avanesyan, my plan is still the same: Whoop Errol Spence’s ass.”

Earlier this month it was revealed that the Crawford-Spence clash was delayed again because Crawford wanted full transparency on event expenses since the contract shows no guaranteed purse.

Crawford would earn a percentage of the net revenue, so he requested to approve expenses as a partner in the event, ESPN reported.

That fight, which was targeted for November, has been pushed back for February or March.

“[Crawford has] been stalling for months, I could’ve fought in November,” Spence tweeted on Thursday.

“Been fighting at this weight for over a decade, this s— ain’t easy or fun.”

Avanesyan is known for his power punching. He holds a win over Hall of Famer Shane Mosley in 2016.

Crawford-Avanesyan will be available on BLK Prime for $39.95. Crawford is reportedly expected to earn a career-high “eight-figure” payday.