What could 2023 have in store for Crawford?
The boxing fraternity was preparing itself for Terence “Bud” Crawford to face Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr for the undisputed welterweight championship, until, in true anticlimactic fashion, those talks did not come to fruition. Instead, Crawford made the sixth defence of his WBO welterweight title against a tough David Avanesyan at the CHI Health Center in Omaha.
The shining light to emerge from this fight was that it finally marked the return of Bud. After a year-long layoff, he made his comeback on the newly emerging and unknown platform of BLK Prime pay-per-view.
Nobody was clamouring for this fight, but given Crawford’s inactivity, and the American recently turning 35, momentum is key entering 2023.
Avanesyan was no slouch by any means. He is a worthy and deserving title challenger. Unbeaten fighters with high hopes were stopped in their home territory by the Russian. After the Crawford and Spence showdown became so tantalisingly close to being finalised, a shadow was always going to be cast over anything that followed.
Since his loss to Egidijus “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas in February 2018, Avanesyan was in the hottest form of his career, stopping all six opponents, including the likes of Kerman Lejarraga and Josh Kelly. An undefeated Lejarraga was stopped in the ninth round in their first meeting in March 2019. Then, in the immediate rematch, Lejarraga was steamrolled in the first round. Josh Kelly was an undefeated British prospect, viewed as someone to watch out for in the future, with a potentially high ceiling. Avanesyan derailed those hopes and set the Englishman back by nearly two years, until Kelly’s recent impressive win of his own against Troy Williamson.
Crawford was making his first appearance in a professional boxing ring since his most significant victory to date against former welterweight champion, Shawn Porter, in November 2021. Crawford became the first man to stop Porter, the immensely talented switch-hitter reminding people about his capabilities. Such a reminder again was overdue, and it came in devastating fashion.
Crawford gradually broke Avanesyan down over the first five rounds, with consistently debilitating body shots and uppercuts, then a swift right hook knocked Avanesyan out cold with 46 seconds left in the sixth round.
Crawford has all-time great talent and is one of the finest and most complete fighters in the modern era, but with the clock ticking, Crawford needs to cement a legacy that matches his in-ring talent with a career-defining fight. Bud cannot afford to have many more of these sort of fights, in which he faces dangerous and risky opponents that offer nothing more for his legacy, especially when it is his only fight of the year.
Fighters of the calibre of Avanesyan, with all due respect, are not legacy-defining opponents for Crawford. Avanesyan is an unknown quantity in America, and his scalp is highly unlikely to embellish Crawford’s resume in any way.
Make no mistake, Crawford deserves all the credit in the world for his achievements and consistency. This was his 17th successive world title fight. Reaching the top is one thing. True greatness is staying there.
We have recently witnessed Josh Taylor become undisputed super lightweight champion, then was awarded a controversial points win in the first defence of his undisputed status against Jack Catterall. Teofimo Lopez reached the mountain-top at 135 lbs against Vasiliy Lomachenko to become unified lightweight champion, then lost in the first defence of his unified titles. These are quality fighters, but also provide examples of how challenging it can be to stay at the peak of the mountain once it is reached.
Avanesyan was no easy knock-over job for Crawford. However, Crawford is now at a stage where only the elite will suffice as opponents. He has won world titles and defended them against a host of contenders. Now, he needs to face his elite generational rival, Spence, to write his name into the history books as one of America’s true pugilistic greats.
Ultimately, this Avanesyan fight perfectly summarised Crawford’s career. Crawford taking a risky fight that he will get no credit for winning, after the frustration of yet another year of not getting the Spence super-fight.
There is still time for Crawford to get the fights the public wants to see, and most importantly, that Crawford’s career needs. By all means, the negotiations table can now be revisited to see if the Spence showdown can finally happen. There is young and hungry welterweights like Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr on the rise and itching for their title shot. They can also be big fights for Crawford. Bud has even expressed his desire to move up to super welterweight and challenge undisputed champion, Jermell Charlo.
If these fights happen, the general perception of Crawford will change drastically.
