Welcome to Fightful's live coverage of Terence Crawford vs. Amir Khan. The two fighters head to New York for a special ESPN pay-per-view and will headline a card that features several big time matchups involving a number of rising contenders. Fightful spoke with many of the key players on the card from Crawford to lightweight contenders Teofimo Lopez and Felix Verdejo to undefeated featherweight prospect Shakur Stevenson and more. You watch those interviews on Fightful's MMA & Boxing YouTube channel at this link.
We'll be providing you quick results and recaps of the entire card and round-by-round coverage of the main event live from Madison Square Garden. You can join in the discussion in the comments section below.
Below is the main card (9 p.m. ET/ESPN PPV):
- Terence Crawford defeats Amir Khan by TKO, round 6, 0:47 to retain the WBO Welterweight title
- Teofimo Lopez defeats Edis Tatli by KO, round 5, 1:32 to retain the NABF Lightweight title
- Shakur Stevenson defeats Christopher Diaz by unanimous decision (100-90, 99-91, 98-92) to retain the IBF Intercontinental Featherweight title and win the NABO Featherweight title
- Felix Verdejo defeats Bryan Vasquez by unanimous decision (97-93, 97-93, 98-92)
Below is the prelim card (6 p.m. ET/ESPN2):
- Carlos Adames defeated Frank Galarza by TKO, round 4, 1:07 to win the NABF and NABO Junior Middleweight titles
- Edgar Berlanga defeated Samir Barbosa by TKO, round 1, 0:46
- Larry Fryers defeated Dakota Polley by unanimous decision (60-53, 60-53, 60-53)
- Lawrence Newton defeats Jonathan Garza by unanimous decision (60-54, 59-55, 59-55)
- Vikas Krishan defeats Noah Kidd by unanimous decision (60-54, 60-54, 59-55)
MAIN CARD
Felix Verdejo vs. Bryan Vasquez: Verdejo outboxes a very tough Vasquez in Verdejo’s first fight at Madison Square Garden since his first pro loss last year. Verdejo had to deal with a cut under his left eye but it didn’t factor in too much into the final result. Verdejo did get rocked in the final round, but Vasquez didn’t push for a knockdown in the closing seconds and Verdejo managed to hang on for the victory, Verdejo, once a top prospect, is now looking to get back into the mix at 135 pounds and a win over Vasquez gets his career back on track. If Verdejo wins a couple of more fights this year, he could potentially be a world title contender in 2020.
Official Result: Felix Verdejo defeats Bryan Vasquez by unanimous decision (97-93, 97-93, 98-92)
Shakur Stevenson vs. Christopher Diaz: IBF Intercontinental and NABO Featherweight titles: On paper, this was probably the most evenly-matched fight on the card. In reality, we saw Stevenson dominate Diaz from start to finish. Stevenson was able to put together several three-punch combinations with ease and showed very good defensive progress against a very game Diaz. The one negative in this fight was that both men repeatedly stepped on each other’s feet and it became so bad that it was a topic of conversation on the PPV broadcast late in the fight. Stevenson now moves to 11-0 as a pro and even though he’s only 21 years old, it’s hard to not call him a contender at this point in his career. Don’t be surprised if Stevenson gets a world title opportunity within the next 12 months.
Official Result: Shakur Stevenson defeats Christopher Diaz by unanimous decision (100-90, 99-91, 98-92) to retain the IBF Intercontinental Featherweight title and win the NABO Featherweight title
Teofimo Lopez vs. Edis Tatli: NABF Lightweight title: Tatli fights well in the first round, standing tall and landing his jabs while not letting Lopez set up his powerful punches. That soon changes in the second round as he lets his hands go and dominates the rest of the fight. Lopez hurts Tatli with a series of power shots and is nearly dropped in the eighth round, which could have been scored 10-8 in favor of Lopez. Lopez closed the deal with a straight right hand to Tatli’s body halfway through the fifth round that left Tatli gasping for air and unable to get back up by the time the referee counted to 10. Lopez said he wants to headline Madison Square Garden in July for a world title and he did tell media during fight week that it could be for the WBC lightweight title, assuming Mikey Garcia vacates the belt. An announcement on the fate of the WBC belt is expected next week.
Official Result: Teofimo Lopez defeats Edis Tatli by KO, round 5, 1:32 to retain the NABF Lightweight title
Terence Crawford vs. Amir Khan: WBO Welterweight title
Round 1: The fight begins with Crawford feeling out Khan in the first round. Khan thoroughly outboxes Crawford in the first two minutes but a soft jab from Crawford drops the challenger late in the first. Crawford hurts Khan again late in the round and Khan is already in deep trouble.
Fightful scored it for Crawford 10-9
Round 2: Crawford takes the momentum from the first round and walks Khan down, throwing several combinations to Khan. Khan starts to find his rhythm and starts throwing punches, including a 1-2 combination that pushed Crawford back, but it didn’t really hurt him. Crawford is still in control.
Fightful scored it for Crawford 10-9
Round 3: Khan starts off with a big right jab to Crawford’s chin, followed by a jab to the body. Khan continues to jab effectively and while Crawford has a wait-and-see approach. Crawford starts throwing the left hook and is getting punches in late in the round to try and make it close on the scorecards.
Fightful scored it for Khan 10-9
Round 4: Crawford lands a pair of jabs and the two men clinch. Crawford stays in the center of the ring while Khan circles him around and looks for an opening. Khan manages to get a body jab in on Crawford. Both men trade shots in the fourth round and Crawford lands a series of shots that buckles Khan’s legs for a bit. Crawford attacks the body late and Khan is hurt. Khan is in trouble once more, but manages to get out of it when a right hand that stuns Crawford at the end of the round.
Fightful scored it for Crawford 10-9
Round 5: Crawford is landing the better punches at this point and is hurting Khan so far in this round with the lead jab. Khan is willing to fight back, but he is losing the strength battle to the champion. Khan is leaning in on Crawford and not willing to step back and use the ropes. Crawford lands another jab while Khan is flailing around in the ring, trying to land something.
Fightful scored it for Crawford 10-9
Round 6: Khan connects with a lead left hook and Crawford hits Khan down low. The fight gets called off.
Official Result: Terence Crawford defeats Amir Khan by TKO, round 6, 0:47 to retain the WBO Welterweight title
