Terence Crawford Vs. 'Mean Machine,' Teofimo Lopez Vs. Richard Commey: Video Highlights, Weekend Fight Reviews
Josh Katzowitz Contributor
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 14: Terence Crawford knocks down Egidijus Kavaliauskas during their ... [+] bout for Crawford's WBO welterweight title at Madison Square Garden on December 14, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Terence Crawford had to fight through some adversity before scoring a win vs. "Mean Machine." Teofimo Lopez left no doubt that he's ready for a shot at Vasiliy Lomachenko after he destroyed Richard Commey. And Vergil Ortiz Jr. continued his 15-fight knockout streak.
But let's go a little deeper, and let's watch (or rewatch) some of the tape. Here's everything you might have missed in boxing this weekend.
Notable weekend fights:
—Just because Ejidijus "Mean Machine" Kavaliaukas (21-1-1) was a massive underdog to Terence Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs), that didn't mean he was going to lay down for the man who many believe is the world's best pound for pound fighter. Instead, Kavaliauskas fought well in the first few rounds and appeared to stun Crawford in the third (he also probably should have been awarded a knockdown after Crawford fell to the canvas following a hard right hand). But that just angered Crawford—who was a -1900 betting favorite entering the fight and who made about $4 million for his night of work. Though his trainer Brian McIntyre told ESPN midway through the fight that Crawford hadn't yet found his rhythm, Kavaliauskas might have a different opinion. He was knocked down in the seventh after a Crawford right hand behind the ear, he was hurt again badly at the end of the eighth, and he was knocked to the canvas twice more in the ninth before the fight was stopped by the ref.
There has been plenty of talk for the past week about how Premier Boxing Champions—which is aligned with most of the top 147-pounders in the world, including Errol Spence, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia, Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman—aren't interested in negotiating a deal to face Crawford. That's not likely to change anytime soon. Perhaps that's why Crawford declined to call out anybody by name in the postfight interview on ESPN. "You all pick them," he said, "and I'll fight them."
—Bring on Vasiliy Lomachenko, after all. Entering Saturday's undercard fight, Teofimo Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) had made it clear that he wants a piece of Lomachenko, who holds two of the 135-pound belts. Now that Lopez easily dispatched Richard Commey (29-3) with a second-round TKO and took Commey's lightweight title with him, who's to say Lopez wouldn't have a shot at dethroning my pound for pound No. 1. Lopez ended the night early when he landed a devastating hook that turned Commey's legs into jelly. Though Commey, who made about $750,000, got up from the sudden knockdown, he couldn't keep Lopez off him and seconds later, the ref stopped the fight.
—Vergil Ortiz (15-0, 15 KOs) continues to knock out his opponents. And on Friday night, he continued his streak of never fighting past the sixth round, as he blasted out Brad Solomon (28-2) with a fifth-round knockout. Entering the welterweight bout, Solomon only had a knockout percentage of 31.0%, so Ortiz didn't have to worry about his opponent's power. Instead, Ortiz stalked him throughout the first three rounds—Ortiz told DAZN afterward that he actually had a difficult time figuring out Solomon's style and made Ortiz "use my brain"—but a stinging jab to Solomon's head knocked him down in the fourth. A round later, Ortiz sent him to the canvas twice more, and because it was obvious Solomon wasn't interested in taking any more punishment, the referee mercifully stopped it.
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Josh Katzowitz
After more than a decade in the newspaper business writing about virtually every professional and major college sport for publications like the Cincinnati Post and the A...