Terence Crawford has never been officially knocked down, but some would dispute that.
‘Bud’ is widely considered to be boxing’s pound-for-pound best after a historic year for the 38-year-old.
Crawford beat the legendary Canelo Alvarez in September after moving up two weight divisions to challenge the Mexican star.
With his decision victory at a Netflix event promoted by Dana White, the Nebraska native became the first male fighter in the four-belt era to win the undisputed championship in three weight divisions.
His record now stands at 42-0 and not a single fighter has been able to record even a knockdown on Crawford. Six years ago today, though, one man arguably should have…
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What do you want to see Terence Crawford do next?
Drop a comment below on who you think should step in the ring with 'Bud' for his next outing.
Terence Crawford dropped Egidijus Kavaliauskas three times after controversial slip ruling
On December 14, 2019, Crawford entered the ring at Madison Square Garden for his third defense of the WBO welterweight title, having won it from Jeff Horn 18 months earlier.
‘Bud’ was coming off a controversial victory over Amir Khan. While the defending champ was on top early, Crawford struck Khan low to leave the Englishman in pain. Trainer Virgil Hunter stopped the fight, leading to a much-debated TKO.
Crawford bounced back from that strange moment in style eight months later by dropping Egidijus Kavaliauskas three times en route to a TKO in round nine. But that fight also sparked a debate, albeit a much different one.
The Lithuanian, who was 21-0-1 at the time, was renowned for his power and looked to have ‘Bud’ hurt at one point. Crawford was even sent down in the third round, but cries of knockdown were dismissed by the referee, who ruled it as a slip.
Some fans and pundits argued against that decision in the aftermath and continue to credit ‘Mean Machine’ as the one and only fighter to knock the legendary Crawford down.
Ultimately, though, he was unable to have his hand raised and became the latest to fall victim to the American’s crisp combinations.
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Terence Crawford said Egidijus Kavaliauskas hit harder than Canelo Alvarez
Given that some believe the Lithuanian forced him to the canvas for the first time, it was perhaps no surprise to hear Crawford rate the power of ‘Mean Machine’ highly.
In fact, speaking after his history-making victory in Las Vegas this past September, Crawford said Kavaliauskas hits harder than Canelo.
“I’ve been hit harder in a real fight. ‘Mean Machine’ hit harder than Canelo, to me, to be honest,” he said at the post-fight press conference.
Kavaliauskas has lost two more times in his six fights since the defeat against Crawford. His most recent outing in the ring was a victory over Samuel Molina in November to become European welterweight champion.
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