WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford defends his title against Egidijus Kavaliauskas on December 14, 2019, at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
One of the sport’s top pound for pound fighters, the undefeated Crawford rose to superstardom when he knocked out Yuriorkis Gamboa in 2014. Since then he has won multiple world titles in a total of three different weight classes to become one of boxing’s premier fighters. Bud will be challenged by former two time Olympian and World Championship bronze medalist Egidijus Kavaliauskas. The Lithuanian fighter is also undefeated and owns a 77% knockout rate. Although he doesn’t have the same skill and speed as Crawford, he owns the knockout punch to make this a fight.
Terence Crawford is the current WBO welterweight champion. The 32-year-old from Omaha in Nebraska is a multiple world champion in three different weight classes. Known as Bud, Crawford is a former undisputed junior welterweight champion and he is the 4th best pound for pound fighter according to The Ring.
Crawford has an undefeated record of 35-0 with 26 knockouts. He stands 5-8 tall with a reach of 74 inches while fighting as a switch hitter. Bud is coming off a knockout win over Amir Khan and he owns wins over the likes of Yuriorkis Gamboa, Ray Beltran, Hank Lundy, Viktor Postol, John Molina, Jeff Horn, and Jose Benavidez Jr.
Known for his unmatched hand speed, quick feet, punching power, and slick defensive skills, Crawford is one of the best boxers today. His ability to excel on both offense and defense makes him a difficult read for opponents. What makes him even more dangerous is that he has been able to carry his punching power up to welterweight.
Egidijus Kavaliauskas is the former WBO inter-continental welterweight champion and NABF welterweight titleholder. He represented Lithuania at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics and he won a bronze medal at the 2011 AIBA Boxing World Championships. Known as the Mean Machine, Kavaliauskas is 8th best welterweight in the latest Ring rankings.
The Mean Machine has a record of 21-0-1 with 17 knockouts. He stands 5-9 tall and has a reach of 71 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. He owns a win over former secondary world champion David Avanesyan and he is coming off a close majority draw with Ray Robinson last March.
Kavaliauskas doesn’t have the speed and skill of Crawford but most certainly, he punches just as hard or even harder. The Lithuanian likes to fight on the inside and doesn’t mind taking punches to land his big blows. Before his draw with Robinson, he had won five of six bouts via stoppage.
Much has been talked about Kavaliauskas’ punching power. 17 out of his 21 wins have been by stoppage or a 77% knockout rate. Physically, he is big for a welterweight and because of that, I think he hits harder than any opponent that Terence Crawford has ever faced. However, he is slow in both hands and foot and because of that, he will struggle against Crawford.
Kavaliauskas can be dangerous when he fights on the inside. He has a good mix of head and body punches and has a very good uppercut. He also lands with awkward angles and this can catch Crawford off guard. If Crawford stays out of range though, and Bud loves to fight at a distance, this will be a cakewalk for the Omaha’s pride.
I don’t think that Kavaliauskas has good defensive instincts and I don’t think he can fight off the back foot so he will have plenty of problems here. Because of these, I think Crawford can launch his offense without much resistance and Bud can prevent his opponent from starting his attack because he is going to make Kavaliauskas defend his offense.
Kavaliauskas also cuts very easily and given the volume of punches that Crawford throws and lands, we could see him get cut early and that is going to be a problem against a predator like Terence Crawford. It should be a long night for Kavaliauskas’ corner and it should be a relatively easy day in the office for Crawford’s seconds.
Crawford will respect Kavaliauskas’ power early on but the longer this fight gets, Bud will get more comfortable. When he realizes he can take his opponent’s best punches, he is just going to go off. I’m not sure if Crawford will get the stoppage here but if he does, it will be because of volume. I’m picking Terence Crawford to beat Egidijus Kavaliauskas on December 14, 2019.
Prediction: Terence Crawford
Teofimo Lopez is a former 2016 Olympian. The 22-year old Honduran-American is a former NABA and USBA lightweight champion and he won both titles by stopping Diego Magdaleno last February. Lopez stands 5-8 tall and has a reach of 58 ½ inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. He has a record of 14-0 with 11 knockouts. He will be making his first world title fight appearance on Saturday night.
Richard Commey is the current IBF lightweight champion. The 32-year old Ghanaian won the belt with a 2nd round knockout of Isa Chaniev last February. Commey successfully defended the belt by stopping former world champion Ray Beltran last June. Commey stands 5-8 tall and has a reach of 71 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. He has won his last four bouts by knockout.
Commey is a good fighter. He has good stamina and he can punch. He uses his feet well and he can fight on the inside. Commey has a good chin but not granite. He isn’t very technically sound and he can be caught by a good counter puncher. However, I think that Lopez is a better fighter than him.
Lopez is one of the hottest prospects in the sport. He went virtually unchallenged before running into Nakatani. Lopez got hurt, went the full 12 rounds for the first time and it was a good learning experience for the young fighter. After the Nakatani fight, people are giving Commey a better shot at winning this fight because the latter is more experienced and superior than Nakatani.
I think Lopez’s skill is going to be the difference early in the fight. I expect Commey to come on in the second half of the bout though. He is going to make a fight out of this and I won’t be surprised if Commey pulls off the upset. However, I think Lopez is hungrier and while he doesn’t have the same experience as his opponent, he is more skilled, and that is going to be the key. I’m picking Teofimo Lopez to beat Richard Commey.
Prediction: Teofimo Lopez
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
