Like most of the boxing world, the patience of Egidijus Kavaliauskas began waning as he anxiously awaited an undisputed showdown between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford to be announced. Despite the perpetual delays, the Lithuanian native remained confident that both sides would eventually cross their t’s and dot their i’s before coming to an agreement.

However, the 34-year-old fringe contender was left dumbfounded as Crawford abruptly left the negotiating tables altogether. Having thrown up his hands in frustration, the WBO 147-pound belt holder will instead defend his crown against David Avanesyan. The two will officially battle it out on December 10th, at Chi Health Center in Crawford’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.

Avanesyan, 34, has gone on a tear as of late, racking up half a dozen stoppage victories in a row since coming up short against, ironically enough, Kavaliauskas. Of course, outside of his win against Avanesyan, Kavaliauskas also shared the ring with Crawford just a few short years ago.

Taking into consideration his familiarity with both men, Kavaliauskas has a strong hunch as to who will pick up the win come fight night.  

“I think Crawford is going to stop him,” said Kavaliauskas to ESNEWS. “Avanesyan is probably going to do some good rounds in the beginning. He’s not a bad fighter, he has heart. But I think Crawford is going to stop him for sure.”

As Kavaliauskas alludes to, Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) has a propensity for slow starts. During their showdown in December of 2019, the former Olympian nearly made his man pay. But after weathering through the early storm, Crawford ultimately picked up on his rhythm, resulting in Kavaliauskas hitting the deck a total of three times before referee Ricky Gonzalez waved things off.  

As Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KOs) continues to move forward in his preparation for what will undoubtedly be the most difficult night of his pugilistic life, Kavaliauskas breaks down what makes Crawford nearly impossible to defeat in the ring.

“Crawford is just a smart guy. He has that good boxing IQ. Even if he’s like losing the beginning of the fight, the first couple rounds it’s not going to do nothing. He’s just watching what you do in the ring. He’s picking your mistakes.”