By Barry Holbrook: David Avanesyan predicts a victory for Errol Spence Jr. in his three-belt welterweight unification fight against Yordenis Ugas on April 16th at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Avanesyan believes IBF/WBC 147-lb champion Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) is now 100% recovered from his car crash in late 2019 and will put on a better performance against WBA welterweight champion Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs) in their headliner on Showtime pay-per-view.
#3 WBC ranked contender Avanesyan (28-3-1, 16 KOs) wants to fight Spence in his next contest, as long as he defeats Ugas and he’s victorious in his match this Saturday night.
Avanesyan, 33, is defending his EBU welterweight title this Saturday, March 19th, against Oskari Metz (15-0, 5 KOs) in the main event at the Wembley Arena in London, England.
It’s a fight that Avanesyan has taken criticism for accepting because the 30-year-old Finnish fighter Metz is an unknown in the eyes of many boxing fans and another example of the Russian fighter defending against a lesser foe.
In Avanesyan’s last fight, he successfully defended his EBU welterweight title against Liam Taylor by a second-round knockout last October. At the time, boxing fans wanted Avanesyan to take on undefeated #1 WBO contender Vergil Ortiz Jr.
“Listen, I want a world title,” said Avanesyan to Secondsout. “I think Errol Spence after car problem after his last fight; I think he feels a little bit better. For this fight [Yordenis Ugas], he’s maybe 100%.
“In his last fight, he wasn’t 100%,” said Avanesyan about Errol not looking as sharp in his last contest against Danny Garcia in 2020 following his car crash in October 2019.
“In a good fight, I think Spence wins,” said Avanesyan in predicting a victory for Errol against Ugas on April 16th. “I give a little bit more chance for Spence.
“If Spence beats Ugas, he has three titles, I hope they give me an eliminator, and I win eliminator, I fight Spence for three titles. It’s good job, I think,” said Avanesyan.
The chances of Avanesyan getting a title shot against Spence this year are nonexistent. It’s not going to happen.
Avanesyan probably won’t get an opportunity to fight Spence until he becomes mandatory for one of his titles.
That may not happen, though, because Avanesyan isn’t fighting the type of opposition that would put him in the #1 spot as Spence’s mandatory. Avanesyan is fighting European-level fighters rather than top-tier world-class opposition, and he’s not doing himself any favors.
What Avanesyan should do is toss the EBU welterweight trinket and focus on fighting top 10 contenders at 147.
If there’s an opportunity that presents itself for Avanesyan to take part in a title eliminator for one of the belts at 147, he needs to grab it with both hands.
By waiting and focusing on defending his EBU title against obscure non-contenders, Avanesyan is wrecking any chances he would otherwise have of one day getting a world title, be it against Spence or WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford.
What’s happening is that Avanesyan is going to be passed up by younger welterweights contenders Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, Conor Benn, and Vergil Ortiz Jr. to get get a title shot.
Those fighters will likely be given a crack at a world title before Avanesyan because they’re facing better opposition.
“When my manager gives me a contract to fight Spence, then I’ll sit down and think how I’ll beat him,” said Avanesyan when asked how he would come up with a game plan to defeat Errol.
“I only know Metz has 15 fights, 5 KOs, and he doesn’t have many fights on YouTube,” said Avanesyan about his fight this Saturday, March 19th, against the little-known Oskari Metz.
“I never think before a fight that I need a knockout. If you think about a knockout, it’s not possible. I take my time. If I see a possible knockout, I take it. It’s not about before the fight, ‘I need a knockout.’ No, I know that I need the win.
“I need #1 to fight WBC. I need to stay active, and I’m ready,” said Avanesyan.
