By Vince Dwriter: Terence “Bud” Crawford signed with Top Rank Boxing back in 2011, and he was on their roster for ten years until he decided to branch off and become a free agent. Now the WBO welterweight champion is preparing to square off with his former promotional company as Crawford and Top Rank share the same fight date.
Back in November 2021, Crawford stepped inside the ring to defend his WBO welterweight title against former two-time welterweight champion Shawn “Showtime” Porter. The fight was a close battle until Crawford was able to score two knockdowns in the tenth round, leading to Shawn’s father and trainer, Kenny Porter, throwing in the towel to officially put a halt to the contest.
After collecting an impressive 10th-round TKO victory, Terence Crawford doubled down on a statement he made prior to his title defense against Porter. With longtime fight promoter Bob Arum sitting to his right, Crawford reiterated his decision to cut ties with Top Rank Boxing, and he named the promotional company’s failure to make a mega-fight as one of the reasons for his departure.
“I’m pretty sure my decision is made already. Bob couldn’t secure me the Spence fight when I was with him, so how is he gonna secure me the Spence fight when I’m not with him? I’m moving forward with my career right now, and I wish everybody the best.”
As a free agent, things seemed as though they were falling into place for Crawford, especially when WBC, IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr defeated Yordenis Ugas and won the WBA title in April 2022. With Spence collecting the WBA title, a potential matchup between him and Crawford transitioned from a unification bout to a battle for the undisputed welterweight crown.
A month later, reports leaked out in regards to the start of negotiations for what many believe to be the biggest fight in boxing. A period of months went by until boxing fans finally received a confirmed fight date, but the matchup that was confirmed doesn’t include Errol Spence Jr.
Boxing fans felt shocked and disappointed when Terence Crawford announced that he had moved on from talks for a bout with Spence and signed a contract to fight David Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KOs) on December 10 at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The fight for the WBO welterweight title will be streamed live for $39.95 on BLK Prime.
In addition to facing Avanesyan on December 10, Crawford will also compete with his former promotional company. On the same night of the Crawford fight, Top Rank has a fight card that features 140-pound contender Teofimo Lopez vs. Jose Pedraza live at Madison Square Garden.
In the interest of fairness, it should be noted that the Top Rank card was finalized prior to the announcement of Terence Crawford’s fight. With the bout being available on a streaming platform for $39.95, and by him fighting an opponent no one is really interested in seeing him fight, it may be difficult for Crawford to receive a certain level of viewership for his bout against the sixth-ranked WBO contender David Avanesyan.
By their event being televised on ESPN, Top Rank has the upper hand due to the fact that boxing fans can save their $39.95 and enjoy a good night of boxing on cable television. Another advantage that Top Rank holds over the Crawford fight is an undercard that features fresh young talent.
A trio of high-level undefeated prospects will be in action on a Top Rank undercard that features heavyweight Jared “Big Baby” Anderson, junior middleweight Xander Zayas, and lightweight Keyshawn “The Businessman” Davis. In contrast to Top Rank, BLK Prime hasn’t released any information in regards to the boxing talent that will be featured on the Crawford-Avanesyan undercard.
On December 10, Terence Crawford is the overwhelming favorite to successfully defend his WBO welterweight title and collect a routine victory, but in the viewership category, Crawford and BLK Prime are in a position to be defeated by Crawford’s former promotional company, Top Rank Boxing.