The contest between Terence Crawford and David Avanesyan was paused before the sixth round for splits in the champion’s gloves to be inspected.
Crawford was allowed by the commission to proceed with the same gloves, despite breaks in the leather allowing the padding to be exposed. In that round, he knocked Avanesyan out cold to retain his WBO welterweight title.
After some speculation online as well as a yet-to-be confirmed picture doing the rounds, the manufacturer, Everlast, has released a statement citing ‘defective leather.’
During the development cycle of the custom fight gloves used in Crawford vs. Avanesyan a batch of defective leather was used in production resulting in a malfunction during the competition. In such cases, Everlast follows proper protocol by providing back up competition pairs to be replaced pending a decision by the sanctioning body overseeing the fight.
A stoppage was called to review the equipment malfunction and the commission deemed the equipment was still suitable for competition. No foul play was at hand, nor was there any tampering of the product on behalf of Terence Crawford and his camp.
The company went on to reaffirm their commitment to safe and premium products for boxing.
In addition to the steps we are taking now, Everlast has long had rigorous quality control procedures in place for all of our equipment, including gloves. We use only premium grade materials and tested construction methods which meet or exceed all standards set by regulatory bodies.
As part of this process, each batch of gloves undergoes extensive inspections prior to being shipped out. This ensures that only quality products reach boxers and other athletes who depend on us for their safety and performance.
Post-fight, an image circulated on social media showing what appears to be Crawford’s gloves – at least in terms of the colours and where the splits occurred.
Big boxing names including cutman and analyst, Russ Anber, as well as hall-of-famer, Lennox Lewis, were adamant that the gloves pictured were used gloves and not new pre-fight. Anber sought confirmation that it was a picture of Crawford’s gloves and not just a pair of the same style.
Can ANYONE confirm that this is a real, true and accurate picture of the Crawford gloves?? Has this photo been tampered with? The gloves in this photo are used gloves! These are not a new pair of gloves! And thats not my opinion, thats a fact !!! I can prove it @Mcaz@neilmarsh3https://t.co/BobR4yZsid
— Russ Anber (@RussAnber) December 13, 2022
Definitely NOT new gloves!
— Lennox Lewis, CBE, CM (@LennoxLewis) December 14, 2022
As of writing, there’s no confirmation as to whether the gloves pictured were the ones used by Crawford. The sanctioning body or fighters are yet to comment publicly on the situation.