On December 11 at CHI Health Center Arena1 a rather unexpected fight will take place. Russian boxer David Avanesyan got the chance to fight for the WBO welterweight title against American Terence Crawford. One of the pound-for-pound leaders was supposed to fight Errol Spence Jr. but the deal fell through at the last minute. The bout is planned to start at 03:00 UK time.
In my opinion, Crawford should win here by knockout in rounds 7-8. It’s not out of the question that he could do it sooner, either. Terence has only stalled fights with more elite opposition, but even with them, he’s always drawn knockouts. In the welterweight division, no opponent has ever gone the full distance with the American. On paper, David has no advantage over Crawford at all. That’s why, with all due respect to Avanesyan’s merits, we’re going to have a mismatch. The fact that the fight is taking place in Terence’s hometown, where he wants to please the local audience with another knockout, confirms this opinion.
During his 14-year career in the professional ring, Crawford had several notable accomplishments: becoming the outright bantamweight champion of the world, winning titles in three weight classes, and leading the pound-for-pound. Terence may be the biggest talent of recent years, but the American’s level of opposition raises big questions. Only a few of his 38 fights were against elite opponents – Sean Porter, Kell Brook, Amir Khan, Egidijus Kavaliauskas, and Juriorkis Gamboa. That said, only Porter was a Class A top at peak form.
Terence is faster, more malleable, and trickier, he has more powerful punches. That means that any mistake made by Avanesian will cost him a missed counter-punch, and when Crawford hits, his opponents will fall down. It’s no coincidence that he has 29 fights finished early.
Avanesyan, of course, deserves a big fight. After losing to Egidijus Kavaliauskas in 2018, he drastically changed his style and approach to training. The result is six straight wins, all of them early. The 34-year-old challenger was not a puncher in the early stages of his career, but then he added markedly in that aspect. Nevertheless, I doubt his power is enough for Crawford. It makes more sense to box in a defensive style and take care of his head. It’s worth noting, though, that Terence is also able to work as a number one if his opponent’s stamina is compromised.
At the top level, he lost to both Kavaliauskas and Peterson. But he also beat British prospect Josh Kelly and knocked out Spanish slugger Kerman Leharraga twice.
Age – 35;
Height – 1.73;
Reach – 1.88;
Stance – Southpaw;
Statistics – 38-0 (29 KO)
Age – 34;
Height – 1.73;
Reach – 1.74;
Stance – Orthodox;
Statistics – 29-3-1 (17 KO)
Where will this fixture be played?
The event will take place at CHI Health Center Arena in Omaha, Nebraska.
Which bookmaker has the best odds for this game?
We recommend checking out the odds for the professional welterweight boxing tournament: Terence Crawford vs David Avanesyan at 1xBet.