Top Rank on ESPN returns to the big house at Madison Square Garden, the historic “Mecca of Boxing”, this Saturday, December 14, for a live presentation of a special tripleheader headlined by pound-for-pound undefeated king, Terence “Bud” Crawford (35-0, 26 KOs), defending his WBO welterweight world title against mandatory challenger, Egidijus “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas (21-0-1, 17 KOs). The undercard bouts will stream live on ESPN+ beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET. Main event coverage will air exclusively on ESPN and stream on the ESPN App (in Spanish) starting at 9 p.m. ET. ESPN Deportes will join the event in progress at 10 p.m. ET.
The tripleheader will also feature IBF lightweight world champion Richard “RC” Commey (29-2, 26 KOs) defending his title against Brooklyn native and rising star Teofimo Lopez (14-0, 11 KOs). In addition, in a 10-round featherweight special attraction, Irish sensation and New York fan favorite Michael “Mick” Conlan (12-0, 7 KOs), will take on the undefeated Russian Vladimir Nikitin (3-0, 0 KOs) in a rematch of their highly controversial 2016 Olympic quarterfinal bout.
Calling the action for ESPN will be Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), former #1 pound-for-pound two-division world titleholder and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward (analyst), and former two-division world titleholder Tim Bradley (analyst). The on-location desk team will feature analysis from Max Kellerman, Mark Kriegel and Bernardo Osuna.
ESPN’s presentation will feature unique production enhancements to bring fans closer to the ring and deliver views that enhance their experience. The production will feature 25 cameras, including a mini FlyCam, an aerial tracking camera system, five super-slow-motion cameras, a jib camera for unique 360-degree vertical and horizontal shots, as well as bumper corner cameras. The mini FlyCam and bumper corner cameras were exclusively developed for Top Rank on ESPN telecasts.
ESPN’s official coverage of fight week continues Wed., Dec 11 with a re-air of “Blood, Sweat & Tears: Countdown to Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas,” (ESPNEWS, 8 p.m. ET) a show that takes fans inside the training camps of the main event fighters.
Coverage will also include:
- Unguarded: Andre Ward with Terence Crawford – in-depth one-on-one interview between ESPN’s Andre Ward and Terence Crawford.
- Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas official press conference (Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+).
- New episode of “The Prospects” featuring Michael Conlan (Available now on ESPN+).
- 17 on-demand replays of Crawford’s past fights, including showdowns with Yuriorkis Gamboa, Amir Khan, Jeff Horn, Julius Indongo and more. (Exclusively on-demand on ESPN+).
- Max on Boxing: Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas Weigh-in (Friday, Dec. 13 at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, Live).
From ESPN.Com
- A video and written piece from Mark Kriegel on Teofimo Lopez, boxing’s most electrifying young fighter, who was 14-0, on the cusp of a title shot, but was also about to crack, carrying a weight that went back generations. On ESPN.Com Thursday, Dec. 12.
- Tim Bradley breaks down the Crawford-Kavaliauskas bout (available Tuesday, Dec. 10 on ESPN+).
- News updates, predictions and a complete guide to the fight on ESPN.com and the ESPN app from Dan Rafael out Friday, Dec. 13.
Top Rank on ESPN(All times Eastern)
| Date | Time | Event | Platform |
| Wed., Dec 11 | 12:00 p.m. | Top Rank Boxing on ESPN: Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas Press Conference (Live) | ESPN+ |
| 8:00 p.m. | Blood, Sweat & Tears: Countdown to Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas (re-air) | ESPNEWS | |
| Fri, Dec 13 | 1:00 a.m. | Blood, Sweat & Tears: Countdown to Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas (re-air) | ESPN2 |
| 4:30 p.m. | Max on Boxing: Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas Weigh-In (Live) | ESPN2 | |
| 8:00 p.m. | Max on Boxing: Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas Weigh-In (re-air) | ESPNEWS | |
| 10:00 p.m. | Max on Boxing: Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas Weigh-In (re-air) | ESPN2 | |
| 11:00 p.m. | Blood, Sweat & Tears: Countdown to Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas (re-air) | ESPNEWS | |
| 12:00 a.m. | Max on Boxing: Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas Weigh-In (re-air) | ESPNEWS | |
| 1:00 a.m. | Max on Boxing: Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas Weigh-In (re-air) | ESPN2 | |
| Sat., Dec 14 | 5:30 p.m. | Top Rank on ESPN: Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas Undercards (Live) | ESPN+ |
| 9:00 p.m. | Top Rank Boxing on ESPN: Crawford vs. Kavaliauskas (Live) | ESPN, ESPN App (in Spanish); ESPN Deportes (joining in progress at 10 p.m. ET) |
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the leading direct-to-consumer sports streaming service from Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ grew quickly to 3.5 million subscribers in 18 months, offering fans thousands of live events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, as well as premium editorial content.
Programming on ESPN+ includes exclusive UFC and Top Rank boxing events, thousands of college sports events (including football and basketball) from more than a dozen sports at 20 conferences, hundreds of MLB and NHL games, top domestic and international soccer (Serie A, MLS, FA Cup, Bundesliga – beginning in 2020, EFL Championship and Carabao Cup, Eredivisie), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, exclusive ESPN+ Original series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films.
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