The news that Terence Crawford will be fighting on the platform that hosted Scarface vs. The One Eyed Wolf earlier this year has been a career shocker for the boxing star.
In a stunning turn of events, “Bud” has signed a contract to face the dangerous David Avanessa on December 10th after moving on from negotiations with Errol Spence Jr.
Boxing fans were shocked at the timing of the announcement after it was reported that Spence vs. Crawford was all but finalized for February 2023.
Not like Crawford’s thunder suddenly overturned the notion that the welterweight division could be completely unified.
Terence Crawford on BLK Prime
Now the little-known BLK Prime will broadcast the event with Avanesian. When entering the sport, BLK Prime billed itself as a “live pay-per-view platform for amateur boxing.”
That Crawford became their biggest name after a lack of real traction in the sport was a big surprise. It’s hard to think that too many players will subscribe or buy the PPV.
After announcing the fight, BLK said: “Terence Crawford will return to the ring on December 10 when he faces current European champion and WBC No. 4 David Avanesian at the CHI Health Center in Crawford’s hometown of Omaha, Neb.
“The fight will be streamed live on BLK Prime for $39.99.”
“This will be BLK Prime’s first professional boxing broadcast, but the Silicon Valley tech company has broadcast several non-professional fights.
“BLK Prime is a subscription video-on-demand company that uses elite technology to deliver the ultimate picture-perfect stream.
The first professional event
A spokesperson for BLK added: “BLK Prime has been around for five years. We are pleased to announce our first World Championship fight.
“Terence Crawford is a home run debutant with the number one pound-for-pound contender [number six on the WBN list] fighter in the world.
“We can’t wait for December 10th in Omaha, Neb.”
Boxing has been going through tough times lately. And with the addition of yet another platform in sports that further fragments television, it’s hard to see how this move will benefit Crawford’s career.
He recently turned 35 and is quickly running out of time to make a significant impact. His run to the 140-pound undisputed crown was too simplistic to be truly outstanding.
So meeting Errol Spence was the right way to go. Both the men and their teams had to do their best to make it happen.
Obviously, Crawford has been backed into a corner as he hasn’t had much representation since leaving Top Rank. He needed an opponent who could do things his way, and Avanesyan met those requirements.
A win over Avanesian should mean a move up in weight for the Omaha man, unless he can secure a deal with PBC in 2023.
Crawford v. Avanesian
A three-division world champion and current WBO middleweight champion, Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs), 35, is a pound-for-pound star.
“Known for his blistering hand speed, ring IQ, striking ability, defense and ability to switch naturally from orthodox to southpaw, Crawford won his first world lightweight title in 2008.
Crawford became the undisputed 140-pound world champion after knocking out Julius Indongo in August 2017. The win made him the first undisputed 140-pound champion since Kosty Tsiu in 2004.
“He was the first male boxer to hold all four major belts at the same time since Jermaine Taylor in 2005.
“Most recently, Crawford has defeated world champions Jeff Horn, Amir Khan, Kell Brook and Shawn Porter.
“In his last time out, Crawford became the first fighter to stop Porter, knocking him down twice in the 10th round.
Frank Warren’s Queensberry’s Promotions promotes the 34-year-old Russian native Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KOs).
The biggest win of Avanesian’s career came in 2016 when he scored a unanimous decision against former world champion Shane Mosley to retain his title.
He defeated Moseley while making his US debut. Avanesyan is currently riding a six-fight knockout streak and is considered a very dangerous opponent.
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Terence Crawford dumbfounds with decision as career nosedives
