By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten WBO Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford of Omaha, Nebraska will be defending the title for the third time this Saturday, December 14th when he takes on undefeated Egidijus Kavaliauskas of Lithuania. The 12-round bout takes place at New York’s famous Madison Square Garden and can be seen live in America on ESPN and ESPN Deportes while fans in Canada can catch it on TSN 3. Crawford last fought in April when he stopped former world champ Amir Khan in the sixth round. Kavaliauskas last boxed in March when he fought to a 10-round majority draw with Ray Robinson to defend his NABF Welterweight Title.
The 32-year-old Crawford enters the fight as a three-division world champ with a perfect record of 35-0 with 26 Kos. The former lightweight and super lightweight champion possesses excellent foot and hand speed and better-than-average power. He’s an accurate puncher who often changes to the southpaw stance and owns a solid chin, but sometimes gets off to a slow start. Basically, Crawford is the total package and is considered as one boxing brightest stars. He’s 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 74-inch reach. Crawford enjoyed an excellent amateur career and has boxed 195 rounds since turning pro in 2008.
He owns wins over the likes of Khan, Jose Benavidez, Jeff Horn, Thomas Dulorme, Raymundo Beltran, Dierry Jean, Hank Lundy, Breidis Prescott, Ricky Burns, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Viktor Postol, John Molina Jr., Felix Diaz and Julius Indongo. He’s also got power to go along with his skills with a current knockout ratio of 74.3 per cent. Crawford beat Burns by unanimous decision in 2014 for the WBO Lightweight title and defended it twice. He beat Dulorme by sixth-round stoppage for the vacant WBO Jr. Welterweight title in April, 2015 and defended it five times.
Crawford also defended the WBC Jr. Welterweight crown three times after winning it from Postol by unanimous decision in July, 2016. He then became the undisputed champion of the division with 2017’s third-round knockout over Indongo as he added the WBA and IBF belts to his collection. As mentioned, Crawford’s sometimes a slow starter, but improves as the fight goes on and he’s comfortable in both a boxing match and a slugfest. He’s regarded by most fans and experts as one of the world’s top pound-for-pound boxers for good reason.
The 31-year-old Kavaliauskas fights out of Oxnard, California and hasn’t lost as a pro with a mark of 21-0-1 with 17 Kos. His only blemish was the draw against Robinson earlier this year. He stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 71-inch reach. This means he’s an inch taller than Crawford but gives up three inches in reach. He also possesses good power with a current knockout ratio of 77.3 per cent and has boxed 95 rounds since making his pro debut in 2013. Kavaliauskas also enjoyed a fine amateur career and represented his homeland at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
He fought as a light welterweight and lost in the first round of the competition though. He fought for Lithuania at the 2012 Olympics in London, England as well in the welterweight division and once again failed to make it out of the opening contest. He also competed at the 2006 World Junior Championships, 2007 World Championships, 2008 European Championships, 2009 World Championships (quarter-finalist) and 2010 European Championships and won a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships.
Since turning pro, Kavaliauskas has also captured the WBO Inter-Continental Welterweight Title. He has an impressive record but hasn’t fought any elite contenders so will be taking a huge step up in class against Crawford. His biggest wins so far have been against the likes of Pablo Munguia, Deniz Ilbay, Daniel Echeverria, David Avanesyan, Juan Carlos Abreu and Roberto Arriaza. He has good skills, power and chin and shouldn’t be taken lightly by Crawford.
Prediction…
Crawford is an elite boxer but he can be hit. However, he’s shown a solid chin so far. Kavaliauskas has nothing to lose so will give it a good shot but he’s needs to have the fight of his life to pull off an upset. It’s a remote possibility, but I expect Crawford to retain his belt Saturday night in a competitive bout.
