Crawford: I have to prepare like Avanesyan is King Kong, he’s a good fighter
Terence Crawford says there’s been no slack in camp ahead of Saturday’s fight with David Avanesyan.
Terence Crawford returns to action this Saturday night on pay-per-view, facing David Avanesyan in another defense of his WBO welterweight title.
Crawford will be back home in Omaha, Neb., for this fight, which is a gamble on the side of BLK Prime, the company putting major money behind this independent pay-per-view effort. There’s also no denying that this is not the fight anyone wanted for Crawford (38-0, 29 KO) at this point in time, as there had previously been real hope that we’d finally see him fight Errol Spence Jr in November or December.
With that not happening, the 35-year-old Crawford instead has Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KO) in his sights. The 34-year-old Russian has been dominating at the European level since 2019, and Crawford says from camp that he won’t be taking his challenger lightly.
On his recent training camp
“It is business as usual. It’s great to have a fight date and a goal to work toward. I have a solid group of guys who are pushing me every single day, and we had a close-knit community during camp. This was one of my best camps, and I am motivated to put on a show for my fans in Omaha, who have had my back from the start of my career.”
On his matchup with David Avanesyan
“David Avanesyan is a good fighter. He’s on a good winning streak, and beat a guy in the U.K., in Josh Kelly who people thought was going to be a star. I have to train like I am facing King Kong on December 10th, because Avanesyan has everything to gain and nothing to lose. I know he is going to bring everything on December 10th, so I’m not looking past him. This will be the best Avanesyan, so I have to be the best Terence Crawford.”
On what a win will do for his career
“My goal is to remind the world that world I am the best fighter on the planet so everyone needs to tune in December 10 on this new BLK Prime PPV platform. I am fighting not just to be the best, but to give fighters fair and equitable treatment in negotiations moving forward.”
Bad Left Hook will have live coverage for Crawford vs Avanesyan on Saturday, Dec. 10, starting at 9 pm ET. You can buy the show for $39.99 at PPV.com and other outlets.