American pound-for-pound superstar Terence Crawford has announced his next fight, but fans will be disappointed to hear that it is not against long-term rival Errol Spence Jr, after the two were reportedly close to agreeing a deal.
Instead, WBO welterweight champion ‘Bud’ Crawford will face Russia’s David Avanesyan, who is well known to boxing fans in the U.K. – ‘Ava’ famously stopped silky Brit Josh Kelly with a dominant performance, to make his third defence of his EBU European title. The 34-year-old is on a six-fight knockout streak and has just three losses to his name
Speaking to ESPN, it’s clear that Crawford is putting the blame on Spence for the fight not materialising.
“I’m excited about this opportunity,” Crawford said. “I was really looking forward to the Errol Spence fight. I started communicating with [boxing manager] Al Haymon and PBC back in June. And unfortunately, they represent a fighter in Errol Spence who didn’t want the fight as bad as I did.
“I agreed to all of their [B.S.] and they’ve been dragging their ass for months. Spence was nowhere to be found while I was trying to make the deal,” Crawford continued. “I explained to Al Haymon and Errol that I was going to fight before the end of the year. … David Avanesyan is a very tough task. He’s knocked out his last six opponents and this guy is dangerous. Once I’m successful against Avanesyan, my plan is still the same: Whoop Errol Spence’s ass.”
The fight will be broadcast on BLK Prime, an up-and-coming streaming service who are looking to announce themselves onto the scene, by securing one of the biggest names in the sport on their platform. The pay-per-view bout will be available to purchase for $39.95.