Crawford stops Brook to retain

WBO Welterweight champion Terence Crawford flipped a switch, and when it was on, it turned out the lights on former world title challenger Kell Brook in four rounds to remain undefeated and retain his title.

The main event that aired on ESPN from “The Bubble” in Las Vegas saw Brook, who was coming in a live underdog as much as 11 to 1 on the broadcast graphic, gave it a game effort, but was just not ready for the blitz the Crawford had once he picked up the pace.

The opening rounds of the fight seemed to be going pretty well for the challenger Brook, as he could dictate the pace and establish the jab. You could make the case that he was up on the cards (29-28 on two of the three) after three rounds.

Then the fourth round happened.

Crawford threw a right hand that sent Brook crashing into the ropes and almost through the ring. And, from there it was academic, as Crawford landed a few shots on Brook before referee Tony Weeks stopped the contest officially at the 1:14 mark.

? LEFT NO DOUBT ?@terencecrawford stuns Kell Brook with a big right hand and wastes no time closing the show in Round 4. Goodness … #CrawfordBrook pic.twitter.com/pvD56GdSdL

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) November 15, 2020

There was a heated moment of trash talk leading into the fight Saturday night. but was Crawford after the fight explained what went down once the bell rang:

“I was trying to gauge the distance. He had good distance. I was trying to find my rhythm in between getting my distance together. That’s why it was so competitive at first. I couldn’t get my shots off.

“Kell is a tremendous talent. He came and he tried to take my title. He was in shape. He made the weight. There were no excuses to be put on the table. He came off of three wins.

“He lost to the better man.”

ESPN Reporter Benardo Osuna asked Crawford who he wanted after the fight, and to no one’s shock, he said, Manny Pacquiao.

“I already said who I want {next}. I want Pacquiao,” Crawford said. “I want to revisit that fight. That was a fight that should’ve happened right now. But being that the pandemic happened, and they weren’t going to allow fans in the Middle East, they had to put a hold to that. Everything was 95 percent done. We had a venue. The money was almost there. It wasn’t quite there. That was the only thing we were waiting on.”

I’ve been hearing Pacquiao taking on Crawford before Pacquiao left Top Rank Boxing to go over to Premier Boxing Champions. So, I won’t hold my breath on that.

However, Crawford wants one of the big names at 147, and we’ll see how or who steps up for that challenge if Crawford sticks around.