Terrence Crawford struggles with starting defense, Diofimo Lopez struggles to win

Teofimo Lopez suffered a sudden stop in the 2nd round but earned a controversial 10-round split decision victory over Sandor Martin on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

One judge scored it 95-94 for Martin, but that was overturned by scores of 96-93 and 97-92 for Lopez.

“You were running the whole time,” Lopez later told Martin. “Every time you land on that counter I beat you. That’s why you run. It’s a boring fight. I can’t believe it. I need a better dance partner. You dance and run.”

Here’s a recap of the fight

In Omaha, a dynamic combination showed that Terence “Bud” Crawford is the pound-for-pound best in boxing. In front of a raucous hometown crowd, Crawford knocked out David Avanesian with a sixth-round TKO at the CHI Health Center.

A textbook right and a left uppercut put Avanesian on his back and quickly ended a tricky fight for Crawford. With the win, Crawford retained the WBO welterweight title.

“I just started picking up the pace, planting my feet and hooking him,” Crawford said in a post-fight interview on BLK Prime.

Here’s a recap of the fight

Results in New York

Jared Anderson (13-0, 13 KOs) defeated Jerry Forrest (26-6-2, 20) by TKO in the second round

Anderson announced his arrival as a heavyweight contender with a two-round knockout of goaltender Forrest.

The referee almost stopped the fight in the first round when Anderson caught Forrest in the corner and landed a steady stream of punches. Anderson landed 54 in Round 1, throwing 114 punches. Round 2 saw Forrest again in serious trouble. Anderson hit him with a series of punches that doubled him over, and the referee stepped in as he was about to hit the canvas. The stop came at 1:34.

The 23-year-old Anderson said he would prefer to face an opponent ranked in the top 15 of the four endorsement organizations named Filip Harkovic, Frank Sanchez, Dillian Whyte and Daniel Dubois.

“We have to make those fights,” said Anderson, who fights out of Toledo, Ohio.

Jared Anderson with a holiday entrance 🎄#LopezMartin pic.twitter.com/DYyXsSkA0f

—ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) December 11, 2022

Forrest proved his status as the division’s custodian last year with back-to-back draws against Michael Hunter and Jie Zhang, which many believed Forrest to win. The 34-year-old from Newport News, Virginia, lost to former title challenger Kubrat Bule in May.

What’s next: Any opponent Anderson mentioned would serve as legitimate tests for the best heavyweight prospect in the sport. He’s clearly graduated to contender status, and a fight against a world-class opponent could be next.

Xander Zayas (15-0, 10 KOs) defeated Alexis Salazar (24-5, 9 KOs) by unanimous decision.

One of boxing’s top prospects, Zayas continued his development with a unanimous decision victory over Salazar in a junior welterweight bout. Scores: 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73.

“I feel like we can improve on everything,” Zayas said.

The Puerto Rican unleashed his impressive offensive arsenal on Salazar, who did little to stop him. Zayas focused most of his attack on the body with 71 connections. Zayas has now gone the eight-round distance in two of his last three fights.

The garden exploded @XanderZayas And @SugarDiaz39 🇵🇷 pic.twitter.com/Fc0RMYkkMp

—ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) December 11, 2022

Salazar has now lost two of his last three fights, including a third-round TKO loss to middleweight contender Carlos Adams.

What’s next: Zayas will continue to fight this level of opposition. It is raw and requires experience. At just 20, there’s no rush.

Keyshawn Davis (7-0, 5 KOs) defeated Juan Carlos Burgos (35-7-3, 21 KOs) by unanimous decision.

Davis remained undefeated with a unanimous decision win over Burgos. The Olympic silver medalist scored 80-77 on all three scorecards.

Extending beyond the sixth round for the first time, Davis repeatedly hurt Burgos with body shots and outscored his opponent 247-48.

Burgos, 34, has fought for a world title three times but has always come up empty. In 2018, the Mexican went 10 rounds with current undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney.

Davis, 23, from Norfolk, Virginia, is one of boxing’s top prospects.

Keeshan is trying to tell the truth and he is one of them 🤷🏾‍♂️

— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) December 11, 2022

What’s next: Davis is ready for a great match. Burgos was Davis’ most experienced opponent in his career, but failed to remotely test Davis. Still, the veteran past his prime gave Davis valuable rounds. Keyshawn can expect to fight three or four times in 2023, with his competition gradually increasing and setting him up for a title shot in 2024.

Results

• Joe Ward (8-1, 4 KOs) defeated Frederic Julen (12-2, 10 KOs) by unanimous decision.

• Damian Knyba (10-0, 6 KOs) defeated Emilio Salas (7-4-1, 3 KOs) by TKO in the 2nd round

• Tiger Johnson (7-0, 5 KOs) defeated Mike O’Hahn Jr. via 5th round TKO

More to come:

In Omaha, Nebraska

• Title Fight: Terence Crawford vs. David Avanesian, 12 rounds, for Crawford’s WBO welterweight title

• Cris Cyborg Vs. Gabby Holloway, 4 rounds, women’s super welterweight