Crawford defends WBO title with ninth-round TKO against Kavaliauskas

New York, December 15: Terence Crawford defended his WBO welterweight title with a ninth-round TKO of Egidijus Kavaliauskas at Madison Square Garden on Saturday (December 14).

The American steadied after an unconvincing start to drop the underdog three times and improve his record to 36-0.

Shaken after a heavy right in the third round, Crawford sent Kavaliauskas (21-1-1) to the floor amid a blistering exchange in a thrilling seventh round before moving in for the finish.

Crawford rattled the Lithuanian with a flurry of blows, dropped him with an uppercut and then landed a final right hook to end the bout.

#PhotoOfTheFight: Respect 🤝 Earned #CrawfordMachine | @GEICO pic.twitter.com/wf9CnN0ZBE

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) December 15, 2019

The 32-year-old, fighting for the first time since beating Amir Khan in April, said he had no concerns after seemingly being knocked down in the third, which the referee ruled a slip.

"He caught me with a good shot," Crawford told ESPN. "I wasn't hurt by no means. I walked away from everything he did all night.

"I thought I'd entertain y'all for a little bit. He's a strong fighter, durable. I thought I'd give the crowd something to get excited about and cheer about."

Asked about his next opponent, Crawford said: "I've been saying I'll fight anybody. I've been saying that for I don't know how long. I don't really got to call out anybody.

"I fought my mandatory, because I had to. I'm not ducking anybody on the PBC side or on the Top Rank side of the platform. I want to fight the top guys, it's simple."