Terence Crawford scores one-punch knockout - plus undercard results from Omaha

It was a sold-out and rocking CHI Health Centre in (main event fighter) Terence “Bud” Crawford’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday night. While some people were seeing this as a tune-up for a huge bout in the spring with Texas star Errol Spence, the Omaha faithful were just happy to be seeing Crawford, viewed by many as the best fighter in boxing, at work on home turf.

While opponent David Avanesyan was certainly the B-side coming in, he was also in a ‘nothing to lose’ position, which can always make a fighter dangerous.

Russia-born, UK-based Avanesyan showed grit and skills throughout the fight. While he did have some strong spots in the fight, especially in round 2, he was never close to taking control at any time in the bout. The ever-patient and highly talented Crawford slowly chipped away at his opponent, looking for an opportunity to walk him into a fight-ending shot. That came in the 6th round.

With the precision punching champion only needing the opening, he landed a left that set up a perfect follow-up right hook that laid Avanesyan out for the count at 2:14 of the round.

After the fight, the somewhat shy champion thanked the fans for their great support and then assessed his performance.     

"I was just warming up in the earlier rounds," Crawford said. "I just started picking up the pace, planting my seeds, and hit him with the hook. We knew what he was going to bring to the table, from orthodox to southpaw”, he said. "My coach told me to keep picking my punches, and keep being smart with my punch placement,” Crawford said. “I broke him down and took him out with a punch I’ve been working on extensively in the gym. Once he landed on the canvas, I knew all my hard work and preparation paid off.”

Crawford, who reportedly pocketed $10 million for the fight against Avanesyan, is obviously interested in the biggest fight out there for him and that is Errol Spence. However, when asked about his plans moving forward, he was somewhat vague.

"This was a one-fight deal (with BLK Prime)," Crawford said. "Hopefully, we can go to the drawing board and these big fights come about in the near future."

For fight fans, the big fight they are looking for is Crawford-Spence.

Here’s hoping.

UnderCard

Junior middleweight (female) MMA star Cris Cyborg (2-0, 1 KO) UD 4 Gabby Holloway (0-3)

Heavyweight Jeremiah “Dreamland” Milton (8-0, 6 KO’s) UD 6 Dajuan “The Punisher” Calloway (5-2, 5 KO’s)

Featherweights Arnold Khegai (19-1-1, 11 KO’s) SD 10 Eduardo Baez (21-4-2, 7 KO’s)

Light heavyweight Steven Nelson (18-0, 15 KO’s) TKO 1 James Ballard (10-5, 3 KO’s)