David Avanesyan to face welterweight titleholder Terence Crawford

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian-Russian professional boxer David Avanesyan will face welterweight titleholder Terence Crawford in a pay-per-view fight on December 10, Crawford told ESPN on Thursday, October 21.

The fight will be available on BLK Prime for $39.95, a spokesperson for the streaming service said.

Crawford remains in talks to face Errol Spence Jr. for the undisputed 147-pound championship, but when it became clear to Crawford that PBC was now targeting the first quarter of 2023 for that fight, he decided to push forward with a title defense to ensure he, like Spence, fought at least once in 2022.

"I'm excited about this opportunity," Crawford said. "I was really looking forward to the Errol Spence fight. I started communicating with [boxing manager] Al Haymon and PBC back in June. And unfortunately, they represent a fighter in Errol Spence who didn't want the fight as bad as I did.

"David Avanesyan is a very tough task. He's knocked out his last six opponents and this guy is dangerous. Once I'm successful against Avanesyan, my plan is still the same: Whoop Errol Spence's ass."

ESPN's No. 10 welterweight, Avanesyan has scored six consecutive wins since a sixth-round TKO loss to Egidijus Kavaliauskas in 2018. That stretch includes a sixth-round stoppage of Josh Kelly in 2021, Avanesyan's best win to date.

A power-punching pressure fighter, Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KOs) owns a 2016 win over a well-past-his-prime version of Hall of Famer Shane Mosley.