Yet to be beaten in the ring, unbeaten star Terence Crawford survived one of his biggest ever scares in the ring against a veteran two-time Olympian.
Two fights deep into his impressive WBO welterweight title reign, the undefeated Terence Crawford finished the who’s who of the division en route to his eventual undisputed title charge.
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And taking out a pair of knockout aces during his initial rise in the division after his blistering win over Jeff Horn, Crawford was tasked with beating an undefeated Olympic star.
Surviving a sizable scare in the early goings of the clash, Omaha native Crawford would rebound to turn in his own gritty stoppage.
Terence Crawford suffered ‘knockdown’ against Egidijus Kavaliauskas
Pitted against Lithuanian star Egidijus Kavaliauskas in defense of his WBO welterweight crown for the third time, Crawford was tasked with handing the Olympian his first pro loss, having embarked on a 22-fight undefeated run.
And yet to suffer a knockdown in his professional career, Crawford was, however, forced to a knee in range against Kavaliauskas — who stung him with a huge right overhand in the pocket.
Ruled ‘no knockdown’, Crawford made it back to his feet, judged to have slipped on the canvas during the exchange.
However, rallying after the knockdown-come-slip, Crawford would score his own knockout in the ninth round — dropping Kavaliauskas three separate times before the eventual finish.
Terence Crawford beat Ukrainian he named ‘one of the best in the world’
Before his welterweight move proper, Crawford was pitted against a fellow undefeated star, long before unifying the belts with his devastating body shot knockout of Julius Indongo.
And during that initial rise at the light welterweight limit, the Nebraska star drew Viktor Postol, who had just won the WBC light welterweight crown with a vicious knockout of his own.
Failing to continue his three-fight run of consecutive knockouts, Crawford would land a decision win over the Ukrainian star — whom he labelled “one of the best” fighters in the world at the time.