BLK Prime is reporting that last Saturday night’s fight between WBO welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford and David Avanesyan was a success in their early PPV buy projections for the fight at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
While BLK Prime released no buy totals, they’re pleased with the numbers that they’re seeing thus far for the Crawford-Avanesyan fight.
For the fight to have brought in good pay-per-view totals says a lot about the 35-year-old Crawford (39-0, because he wasn’t facing a household name in Avanesyan (29-4-1, 17 KOs).
Fans were not demanding to see this fight, so for it to have done well in terms of buys, it’s a positive sign moving forward if BLK Prime chooses to bring Crawford back.
“Early reports indicate that buys for the sold-out event exceeded initial projections on BLK Prime digital, further solidifying BLK Prime’s position as the newest and best destination for high-quality boxing content,” per BLK Prime press release.
“Terence Crawford and David Avanesyan was a resounding success.”
“Bud Crawford smokes out with a knockout of the year candidate David Avanesyan,” said Paulie Malignaggi on Paulie TV. “David Avanesyan hung tough, but Bud Crawford showed once again why he’s #1 pound-for-pound on many people’s list, including my own.
“Bud is 35 and has had a 13-month layoff. Fighters start to look a little more ordinary. We wanted to see how Crawford was looking under the circumstances and if there were any signs of aging.
“I thought Avanesyan fought as good a fight as he can. This is a durable guy that stays in your face. You can see why he upsets certain people because he knows how to mentally stress you and also physically stress you by staying in your face like that, cutting off the ring, and forcing you to work when you don’t want to work.
“Crawford makes it look so easy. That fight wasn’t as easy as Crawford made it look. He was so composed under the pressure. He knows how to pick his shots so well.
“You say, ‘Why is Crawford fighting gatekeepers? Why isn’t he fighting Spence?’ I get it. I want to see him fighting Spence. There’s a lot more involved in than we realize, and the negotiations do get tough.
“Crawford needs rounds. He needs to get in there and shake the rust off. A couple of Avanesyan’s shots landed a little cleaner than anyone that was a Crawford fan would have wanted,” said Malignaggi.