Crawford crushes Kavaliauskas in ninth round to retain WBO title

Terence Crawford survived some early jitters to retain his WBO welterweight title with a ninth round knockout of former Olympian Egidijus Kavaliauskas at Madison Square Garden.

Crawford, who improved to 36-0 with 27 knockouts, survived a scare in the third round before finding his rhythm in the fifth, knocking the Lithuanian down once in the seventh, and then twice in the final round.

In a tougher than expected tussle, heavy Crawford finished the heavy underdog challenger off with a right hook to the left ear 44 seconds into the ninth.

"When I let my hands go that's when I started landing more favourable shots," the American said.

"After I dropped him with my uppercut I was like, I am going to face his jab, and come out with my right hook."

Kavaliauskas barely survived the end of the eighth round and Crawford wasted no time going to work in the ninth. He landed a barrage of punches to start the round, beginning with a left hook followed by a right that sent Kavaliauskas staggering ...