Terence Crawford vs Egidijus Kavaliauskas Preview

Terence Crawford vs Egidijus Kavaliauskas Preview

By Sina Latif

Tonight at Madison Square Garden in New York, Terence “Bud” Crawford (35-0, 26 KO’s) will defend his WBO welterweight world title for the third time against undefeated mandatory challenger Egidijus “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas (21-0-1, 17 KO’s).

Whilst previewing his fight with Top Rank, Crawford said: “I’m expecting him to be a determined fighter. He’s undefeated. He’s never lost, he doesn’t know how it feels to lose. He’s a two-time Olympian. He knows what he’s doing in there, and he’s got everything to gain and nothing to lose.”

Whilst speaking to EsNews, Kavaliauskas, the WBO No.1 contender, stated: “I was getting ready for this fight for 24 years. First time I stepped into the gym, I was making myself get ready for this fight. This was my dream from a little kid.”

Kavaliauskas is an undefeated and determined fighter with power, so he may prove to be just as difficult to beat in the ring as it would be to pronounce his name. However, he is also the fourth undefeated fighter in Crawford’s past five bouts. The other undefeated fighters, Julius Indongo, Jeff Horn and Jose Benavidez Jr all suffered the same fate, a knockout loss.

Since turning professional, Crawford has been flawless. He is a three-weight division champion and became undisputed champion at super-lightweight, unifying all four belts. Bud has had 13 world title fights with 10 knockouts, which include Olympic gold medalist Felix Diaz, bitter rival Benavidez, Horn (Manny Pacquiao conqueror), and former unified super-lightweight champion Amir Khan.

Although Crawford is currently defending his sixth world title in three divisions, there are many naysayers who state that he must become undisputed at welterweight in the same manner as super-lightweight to truly establish his supremacy.

They say that Crawford’s reputation as a three-weight division and a pound-for-pound star is unjust due to the omission of a victory over a fellow pound-for-pound star on his resume. Others believe that Crawford has the IQ and smarts, along with the skills, to always make hard fights appear easy.

Crawford can be an absolute nightmare for any opponent due to his ability to box out of the southpaw and orthodox stance with equal poise, balance and power. He can adapt to any opponent during the fight.

Kavaliauskas had an extensive and successful amateur career and won bronze at the 2011 World Championships in Lithuania. After being the NABF and WBO inter-continental welterweight champion, he is now poised to challenge for the WBO welterweight title.

The reality is that this is not the fight that Crawford and Top Rank want, but it is a mandatory obligation which must be fulfilled.

Kavaliauskas must be dealt with before Crawford can look for the big fights with the PBC fighters at 147 ‘on the other side of the street’ to solidify his standing as one of the best American fighters of the modern era.

A victory for Crawford is no guarantee in a sport which occasionally produces huge upsets.

As an undefeated fighter, ‘The Mean Machine’ will be confident and along with his power and speed, he does have the ability to give Crawford problems. He is a very capable number one contender, but yet again, Crawford is showing faith in his own talent, willing to take risks against both household names and men with names that are hard to spell.

The issue for Kavaliauskas may be that Crawford is a man who has become accustomed to disposing of contenders. Whilst awaiting a signature fight, top contender after top contender has been put away.

Stopping David Avanesyan in the sixth round and having 17 KO’s in 22 fights, along with the fact that he is a seemingly big welterweight, suggests that Kavaliauskas has power, possibly more than any of Crawford’s past opponents.

However, someone with the skill, athleticism and speed of Crawford can comfortably contain that power if he boxes to his ability. Fighters must be quick with their hands and feet and have the ability to cut the ring off in order to prevent Crawford getting into his rhythm as the rounds progress.

Problem is, Kavaliauskas does not have particularly quick hands or feet and in his previous fight against Ray Robinson, which ended as a draw, Kavaliauskas just could not cut the ring off effectively. Unless there is drastic improvements against Crawford, Bud can make this a comfortable night.

At range, one must be a good outside fighter against Crawford, who has a 74-inch reach. The Mean Machine hasn’t shown anything particularly impressive as an outside fighter to suggest Crawford wouldn’t comfortably out-box him at range.

Perhaps on the inside, ‘Mean Machine’ can have some success, but Crawford can control range very well and may end up timing the Lithuanian when coming in.

Crawford is a complete fighter in his prime with aspirations to become an undisputed champion in two divisions back-to-back. Provided the American does come through this test in emphatic but yet again less polished fashion due to the so-called poor opposition, maybe Crawford can finally secure a fight against a name-brand opponent who can provide him with the crossover appeal and recognition that a fighter with such phenomenal generational talent deserves.