Lopez-Martin and Crawford-Avanesyan live results and analysis

Former unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez Jr. returns to the ring for his second fight at junior welterweight to face Sandor Martin in the main event of a Top Rank card at New York’s Madison Square Garden (ESPN/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET, with undercard starting at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+).

Lopez (17-1, 13), of Brooklyn, New York, won his first lightweight world title with a second-round TKO of Richard Commey in 2019. He added two more belts by defeating Vasiliy Lomachenko by unanimous decision in 2020. He lost the titles a year later by split decision to George Kambosos Jr. After the fight, Lopez was diagnosed with “pneumomediastinum” with “extensive air in the retropharyngeal space.” One of the doctors said, “He’s lucky” to be alive.

Lopez returned in August with a seventh-round TKO of Pedro Campa in Las Vegas, his first fight at 140 pounds.

Martin (40-2, 13 KOs), of Barcelona, Spain, shocked the world with a majority-decision win over Mikey Garcia in 2021. Martin has won 11 consecutive fights and hasn’t lost a bout in more than five years. He’s coming off a unanimous-decision victory over Jose Felix in April.

Some of the best prospects in boxing will be in action on the undercard. Heavyweight Jared Anderson takes on veteran Jerry Forrest, junior middleweight sensation Xander Zayas faces Alexis Salazar and lightweight Keyshawn Davis goes against Juan Carlos Burgos.

In Omaha, Nebraska, WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford defends his title against David Avanesyan, and MMA champion Cris Cyborg makes her boxing professional debut against Gabby Holloway in a junior middleweight bout.

Follow along as Mike Coppinger and Ben Baby recap all the action. You can also watch the Top Rank fights on ESPN+.

Fight in progress: Xander Zayas vs. Alexis Salazar, 8 rounds, junior middleweights

The Garden EXPLODED for @XanderZayas and @SugarDiaz39 🇵🇷 pic.twitter.com/Fc0RMYkkMp

— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) December 11, 2022

Results in New York

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

Davis remained undefeated with a shutout unanimous-decision victory over Burgos. The Olympic silver medalist won via scores of 80-77 on all three scorecards.

Davis, who was extended past the sixth round for the first time, hurt Burgos several times with body shots, and outlanded his foe 247 to 48.

Burgos, 34, challenged for a world title on three occasions but came up empty each time. In 2018, the Mexican went the 10-round distance with Devin Haney, the current undisputed lightweight champion.

Davis, a 23-year-old from Norfolk, Va., is one of the best prospects in boxing.

Keyshawn the truth been tryna tell y’all he one of them ones 🤷🏾‍♂️

— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) December 11, 2022

What’s next: Davis is clearly ready for better competition. Burgos was easily the most experienced opponent of Davis’ career, yet didn’t manage to remotely test Davis. The past-his-prime veteran did, however, lend Davis valuable rounds. Expect Keyshawn to fight three to four times in 2023 with his competition gradually raised, preparing him for a title shot in ’24.

Prelims:

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

• Damian Knyba (10-0, 6 KOs) def. Emilio Salas (7-4-1, 3 KOs) by second-round TKO

• Tiger Johnson (7-0, 5 KOs) def. Mike O’Han Jr. (16-2, 7 KOs) by fifth-round TKO

Results in Omaha

Jeremiah Milton (8-0, 6 KOs) def. Dajuan Calloway (5-2, 5 KOs) by unanimous decision

Milton got through a unique opponent in Calloway in a battle of heavyweights, 59-55, 59-55, 58-56.

Milton had a tricky time with Calloway, who carried a significant weight advantage. Calloway officially weighed in at 387.6 pounds, 136.8 pounds heavier than Milton, a gap the equivalent to a junior welterweight fighter. However, Calloway’s shoulder roll defense gave and counterpunching gave the Tulsa, Okla., native fits and didn’t allow Milton to land many clean punches.

Steven Nelson (18-0, 15 KOs) def. James Ballard (10-5, 3 KOs) by first-round TKO

Steven Nelson kicked off the pay-per-view portion of the Terence Crawford-David Avanesyan card with a first-round stoppage against the overmatched James Ballard.

Nelson was fighting for the first time since Sept. 2020 and was coming off a torn Achilles injury. Nelson caught Ballard with a left hook to the body before an overhand right sent Ballard to the canvas to end the fight.

While Nelson was coming off a long layoff, Ballard had lost three consecutive bouts, more than four years removed from his last win. Most recently, he lost in a second-round TKO in Oct. 2021, according to BoxRec.

Still to come:

In New York:

• Teofimo Lopez vs. Sandor Martin, 12 rounds, junior welterweights

• Jared Anderson vs. Jerry Forrest, 10 rounds, heavyweights

In Omaha, Nebraska

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

• Cris Cyborg vs. Gabby Holloway, 4 rounds, women’s junior middleweights