BoxRec

"Terence Crawford vs. Kell Brook agreed for Nov.14 on ESPN"

Terence Crawford and Kell Brook have reportedly agreed to a deal to battle it out on November 14 on ESPN. Crawford-Brook will occur either at ‘The Bubble’ at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, or in Omaha, Nebraska. Mike Coppinger broke the news on the Crawford-Brook deal being agreed on.

Fans are going to find out if Crawford is for real or not on November 14. If he struggles to beat Brook or if he loses, then you have to conclude that Crawford was a product of the soft match-making done by his promoters.

Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn hasn’t said anything about the deal being done with Crawford, so we’ll have to wait for him to make it official.

In terms of punching power and talent, Brook is easily the best fighter that the 32-year-old Crawford will have faced during his 12-year-old pro career. Crawford is turning 33 next Monday, and this may be as good as it gets for him in defending against Brook.

With Crawford signed with Top Rank, it walls off any chance of him fighting most of the Premier Boxing Champions [PBF] fighters.

It was Crawford’s idea to try and stage the fight in his hometown of Omaha, but that’s not something that Brook will be happy about. Kell (39-2, 27 KOs) wants to fight Crawford in Las Vegas, and he’s already excited about that.

The unbeaten Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) will have his WBO welterweight title on the line when he defends it against former IBF 147-lb champion Brook, who hasn’t fought in this weight class since 2017.

Brook, 34, has been fighting at junior middleweight since 2018. He moved up in weight to the division following his 11th round knockout loss to Errol Spence Jr in 2017. Brook moved up in weight to 154 because it was hard for him to make the 147lb limit, but he looks too small for that division.

147 is probably the better weight class for Brook than for him to be competing against much bigger fighters at 154. Brook hasn’t fought anyone of note since he moved up in weight.

He’s been taking tune-up fights for the last two years and calling out Amir Khan with no luck. It’s unclear if Brook lost some of his love for the sport after his consecutive losses to Gennadiy Golovkin and Spence in 2016 and 2017.

Brook suffered eye injuries in both of those defeats, and you can’t blame him if he’s been in a hurry to take any additional risks in the last two years.

Few boxing fans are giving Brook any chance of beating Crawford, considering his inactivity, history of eye injuries, weight, and his age. For some reason, people view Brook as an older guy, but he’s only a year older than Crawford.

You can’t rule out an upset win for brook in this fight because he’s got significant power, and he’s fought better opposition than Crawford. Brook has already been tested in his battles against Gennady Golovkin, Errol Spence, and Shawn Porter. Brook beat Porter, and he was on his way to defeating GGG and Spence when he suffered his eye injuries.

In Crawford’s case, no one knows whether he’s as good as people say because he hasn’t fought anyone at 147 or 140. In both of those weight classes, Crawford was never tested by anyone.

Unfortunately, Crawford moved up to 147 without fighting Josh Taylor, Jose Ramirez, or Regis Prograis. And since he’s been at 147, Crawford has been fighting these guys: Jeff Horn, Amir Khan, Jose Benavidez Jr, and Egidijus Kavaliauskas.

Brook has fought only three times since moving up to 154, and he’s not exactly lit up the world with his level of opposition.

Kell’s last three opponents:

Sergey Rabchenko
Michael Zerafa
Mark DeLuca

Brook could have been involved in many exciting fights, but he’s failed to take them. Kell could have taken on top junior middleweights like Jermell Charlo, Jarrett Hurd, Julian Williams, and Erislandy Lara. Still, he’s been content to fight the fighters from the above list.

Brook should have tested himself by now at 154 because if he had failed, he could have moved back down to 147 a long time ago.

Thoughts?

• July 19th 2019 – Bob Arum: “Kell Brook means nothing anymore… [won’t fight Terence Crawford]”

Brook hasn't won a bout at 147lbs for 4½ years and it's been 6½ years since the Brit last defeated any top-ten world-rated opponent.

There has to be limits as to how flexible the WBO's rules are allowed to be, because he's not even listed in their top-fifteen ratings. He's not a qualified title challenger and doesn't deserve to be one either.

Enlightened-One wrote: ↑25 Sep 2020, 01:00 • July 19th 2019 – Bob Arum: “Kell Brook means nothing anymore… [won’t fight Terence Crawford]”

Brook hasn't won a bout at 147lbs for 4½ years and it's been 6½ years since the Brit last defeated any top-ten world-rated opponent.

There has to be limits as to how flexible the WBO's rules are allowed to be, because he's not even listed in their top-fifteen ratings. He's not a qualified title challenger and doesn't deserve to be one either.

Maybe because he's ranked by WBO in the 154 division? I haven't checked..

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑25 Sep 2020, 03:04

Enlightened-One wrote: ↑25 Sep 2020, 01:00 • July 19th 2019 – Bob Arum: “Kell Brook means nothing anymore… [won’t fight Terence Crawford]”

Brook hasn't won a bout at 147lbs for 4½ years and it's been 6½ years since the Brit last defeated any top-ten world-rated opponent.

There has to be limits as to how flexible the WBO's rules are allowed to be, because he's not even listed in their top-fifteen ratings. He's not a qualified title challenger and doesn't deserve to be one either.

Maybe because he's ranked by WBO in the 154 division? I haven't checked..

He's tenth at 154lbs, which he gained by beating Mark Deluca in February, because he was unranked prior to that bout.

It's kind of funny, Bob Arum mentions to the media, earlier in the year, about the possibility that Brook could face Crawford. And around the same time, Kell Brook suddenly gains a WBO top-ten 154lbs ranking by beating a nobody.

It still doesn't make sense to allow him to jump to the front of the queue at 147lbs though (based on his lack of form and recent accomplishments). He isn't even rated at 147lbs, so who are the WBO going to unfairly relegate from their welterweight rankings in order to accomodate Brook?

For me, Kell Brook (based on his most recent feats), is about as deserving for a shot at Terence Crawford's WBO title as the like of Vyacheslav Shabranskyy & Igor Mikhalkin were they faced Sergey Kovalev. It's really appalling.

these are their august rankings, so guys like lew crock and chris kongo who dont really deserve spots anyway are probably unda threat

and when is my man yuki f@cking beppu gonna get his shot? crawford ducking the Japanese sledghammer hands I think, also nervous about the silky skillz of mik shonena

1 Shawn Porter USA
2 Vergil Ortiz, Jr. USA
3 Mikey Garcia USA
4 Custio Clayton CAN
5 Yordenis Ugas CUB
6 Mikka Shonena (WBO Africa) NAM
7 Mikael Zewski (NABO) CAN
8 Michael McKinson UK
9 David Avanesyan RUS
10 Keith Thurman USA
11 Jaron Ennis USA
12 Yuki Beppu (Asia-Pacific) JPN
13 Egidijus Kavaliauskas LIT
14 Chris Kongo (WBO Global) UK
15 Lewis Crocker (WBO Europe) UK

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑25 Sep 2020, 03:39 these are their august rankings, so guys like lew crock and chris kongo who dont really deserve spots anyway are unda threat

and when is my man yuki f@cking beppu gonna get his shot? crawford ducking the Japanese sledghammer hands I think

1 Shawn Porter USA
2 Vergil Ortiz, Jr. USA
3 Mikey Garcia USA
4 Custio Clayton CAN
5 Yordenis Ugas CUB
6 Mikka Shonena (WBO Africa) NAM
7 Mikael Zewski (NABO) CAN
8 Michael McKinson UK
9 David Avanesyan RUS
10 Keith Thurman USA
11 Jaron Ennis USA
12 Yuki Beppu (Asia-Pacific) JPN
13 Egidijus Kavaliauskas LIT
14 Chris Kongo (WBO Global) UK
15 Lewis Crocker (WBO Europe) UK

Yeah, I agree, the WBO’s 147lbs rankings are pretty dire, but imagine if (through no fault of your own), you’re the contender that suddenly loses their place amongst the top fifteen (and replaced by a guy that hasn't won a bout at 147lbs for 4½ years), simply because of Top Rank’s dodgy relationship with the WBO?

I'd be pissed if i was that guy, no doubt, though some of those guys who are ranked are even less deserving than brook would be. Like chris kongo has only beat 1 opponent that currently has a winning record i believe, can't feel too bad for him if he gets the boot....

if you want to learn the names of dozens of fighters you've never heard of, just browse through sanctioning body rankings, lol man some of these guys are totally random

Am i the only one who is at least bit excited about this fight ?

Its like the amir khan showdown Crawford had.

Cent0089 wrote: ↑25 Sep 2020, 07:44 Am i the only one who is at least bit excited about this fight ?

The last time Kell Brook defeated a universally recognised top-ten world-rated welterweight was 6½ years ago, at a time when the biggest name pound-for-pounders included the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Andre Ward, Wladimir Klitschko, Tim Bradley, Juan Manuel Marquez and Carl Froch.

Brook hasn't won a bout at 147lbs for 4½ years.

That might explain the reason for why people are lacking enthusiasm about this fight.

Hopefully we're all wrong, and Brook is able to be competitive and deliver a valiant effort. I'd be over-the-moon if Kell can defy my expectations and do well against Crawford.

Sadly it's pretty clear that the GGG fight first broke the hitherto unbeaten Kell Brook. Mentally and physically.

Then there was that disastrous premature return against Spence.

And now this.

In the meantime the eagerly awaited epic Brook v Khan showdown fades into a forgotten wish.

Brook v Crawford will depend upon what kind of fight Kell wants. We already know what cagey Crawford is going to do but we don't know what Kell Brook has got left.

Kell has already defied belief to keep on overcoming enormous setbacks and return to where he is now but everyone has limits.

Still, maybe Kell can use the recent example of Alexander Povetkin as a source of inspiration.

That was just an awesome performance by Povetkin, and now Brook is going to need something similar to shock the world.

Porter win 6 years ago. Since then he has beat

Ionut dan
frankie gavin
Kevin bizier
Siarhei rabcjanka
Mike zerafa
Mark deluca

This fight goes 1 of 2 ways:

Brook is blown out early
Brook is competitive early and knocked out mid fight

Brook has still got a lot of power for a 147 pounder but he is damaged goods. Not to be so easily overlooked, since he is imposing compared to Bud.

Apparently none of the UK networks are willing to broadcast the fight, which might prevent this bout from taking place.

It seems that Bob Arum told iFL TV that neither BT nor Sky were interested in covering the bout.

And without the UK TV money, the fight probably won’t happen.

Who know what’ll happen?

Cent0089 wrote: ↑25 Sep 2020, 07:44 Am i the only one who is at least bit excited about this fight ?

No, I like all Crawford fights. Very exciting fighter.

It's a decent match up.
Crawford does have a way of picking a fight and buying respect points but not quite going all in.

Evander wrote: ↑28 Sep 2020, 00:39 It's a decent match up.
Crawford does have a way of picking a fight and buying respect points but not quite going all in.

Yeah, like the way he historically cleaned out a division?

Onetimeonly wrote: ↑28 Sep 2020, 03:44

Evander wrote: ↑28 Sep 2020, 00:39 It's a decent match up.
Crawford does have a way of picking a fight and buying respect points but not quite going all in.

Yeah, like the way he historically cleaned out a division?

You know he hasn't fought anyone in years right.

Evander wrote: ↑28 Sep 2020, 04:16

Onetimeonly wrote: ↑28 Sep 2020, 03:44

Evander wrote: ↑28 Sep 2020, 00:39 It's a decent match up.
Crawford does have a way of picking a fight and buying respect points but not quite going all in.

Yeah, like the way he historically cleaned out a division?

You know he hasn't fought anyone in years right.

Hang on, Didnt he fight P4P king/ATG/HOFer Jeff "the hornet" Horn not too long ago...

Evander wrote: ↑28 Sep 2020, 04:16

Onetimeonly wrote: ↑28 Sep 2020, 03:44

Evander wrote: ↑28 Sep 2020, 00:39 It's a decent match up.
Crawford does have a way of picking a fight and buying respect points but not quite going all in.

Yeah, like the way he historically cleaned out a division?

You know he hasn't fought anyone in years right.

He's fought who's available. You know rival promoters don't often get together, right?

What can I tell you

Way it looks, Crawford is coasting to a big pay day and boxing fight after fight keeping up his boxing street cred.
The big pain in the ass is he does it and meets the expectations we set of him doesn't he.
I want to see how good of a boxer he is but it's a long drawn out process isn't it.

Errol Spence Jr., Danny Garcia, Manny Pacquiao, Keith Thurman, Yordenis Ugas, Sergey Lipinets, Mikey Garcia and Jamal James are all Al Haymon/PBC fighters.

Even though Kudratillo Abdukakhorov is a Top Rank fighter, he's engaging on a PBC card for the final fight of his three-bout deal with Bob Arum, when he’ll be the underdog facing Sergey Lipinets.

Vergil Ortiz is a GBP/DAZN fighter and there are rumours about him facing an Al Haymon/PBC fighter next (i.e. Adrien Broner).

I can’t think of any other top-ten world-rated welterweights that Crawford could face, but it's clear that any fighter that wants to accomplish anything noteworthy at 147lbs will need to work with the PBC at some point.

And before anyone mentions Amir Khan, the Brit wasn’t a world-rated welterweight when he faced Crawford – like Kell Brook, he was simply a big-name has-been.

Bob Arum has already conceded that Crawford will probably be facing former 140lb-ers at welterweight in the near future, due to Top Rank’s inability to work with the PBC, with Terence being lined-up to fight smaller men, such as Jose Ramirez, Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis.

We shouldn’t feel too sorry for Crawford though, because if beating the likes of Spence Jr., Pacquiao, Thurman, Porter & Garcia were high on his list of priorities, he wouldn’t have extended his contract with Bob Arum’s Top Rank a couple of years ago.

He chose the $3m paycheque guarantee per bout over legacy-defining bouts. Crawford essentially ducked his 147lb peers, perhaps not out fear, but due to greed.

And to be honest, I would have chosen the paycheque too, but I wouldn’t be stupid enough to bitterly complain to the media about being “ducked” by PBC fighters, because everyone anticipated the consequences of his decision to renew his contract with Top Rank. And I really do mean EVERYONE!!!

He simply can't have his cake and eat it, hence Crawford not engaging in any meaningful bouts since August 2017, as per his next outing against Kell Brook.

Evander wrote: ↑28 Sep 2020, 04:51 What can I tell you

Way it looks, Crawford is coasting to a big pay day and boxing fight after fight keeping up his boxing street cred.
The big pain in the ass is he does it and meets the expectations we set of him doesn't he.
I want to see how good of a boxer he is but it's a long drawn out process isn't it.

I've known how good he is for many years.

The Brook-Crawford fight probably won't happen if none of the UK networks are interested in paying Top Rank to cover it.

And apparently the UK networks aren't interested in covering the Lomachenko-Lopez fight either.

Bob Arum has already confirmed the lack of interest from UK networks to pay for those bouts, which includes both Sky & BT. He confirmed that he approached those networks and both weren't interested.

Meanwhile, UK fight fans will be forced to pay at least £20 for the privilege to watch the Usyk-Chisora bout, which I feel is a complete disgrace!

I think it's pretty obvious why the UK networks aren't queueing at Arum's door - he's asking too much!

For sure, hardly anyone in the UK will be expecting Kell Brook to win, but we'd watch if the price was right.

Crawford's risk aversion is hurting no one but him. TR and TC have already fleeced the Brits once with Khan - and now the same trick twice?

This is simply a cheap negotiating tactic by the Crawford camp. Arum can jump up and down and make future threats if he likes but he's fooling no one.

Drop the price Bob and then watch them come running. Or else go find TC a more dangerous opponent.

The world has changed, get over it.


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