Boxing - Crawford vs. Brook (14th November) ?

[Egg Shen]

Thought i'd get a thread going for this as this is a big fight that's flying under the radar...

This is a weird one. It was announced to little fan fair. It hasn't helped that Brook apparently negotiated this fight without Eddie Hearn's input which led to abit of a spat and its why this fight has ended up on as a Premier Sports PPV. The lack of Matchroom's promotion has led to this fight flying under the radar, especially from a UK perspective. Many in the UK are probably unaware this is happening.

Does Brook have any chance? Unlikely. He's won 3 fights since he got stopped by Errol Spence but he's coming back down in weight for this fight and Kell notoriously had trouble making weight in the past, he's dropped his regular trainers again and he's going up against arguably the p4p best fighter in the sport. Many are seeing this as one last cash grab for Brook before he gets out. That said, he looks in ridiculous shape:

The knock on Crawford is that being with Top Rank he doesn't have the access to fighting the worlds other top Welterweights because of politics so his resume isnt of the level it should be, so there's a question mark of just how good he is. This fight probably wont do much to change that as Brook is seen as washed but Crawford is always credited for how he goes about his business, Crawford is ruthless in the ring.

The other question is, will Brook do better than Khan did agaisnt Crawford? ?

The fight is £9.99 on Premier Sports which isn't ideal but its cheaper than a Sky Box Office show which Brook was pushing for. Think you get the full month of Premier Sports too for your 10 notes.

Edited November 11, 2020 by Egg Shen

[kamicazze]

Brook looks in incredible shape for it. Possibly the best shape in a long time. 

It felt like a cash out to me from Brook for a last retirement fund. He cut out Eddie Hearn negotiating the fight himself, he then cut out Dom Ingle who's known to take a hefty fee, he's negotiated his own TV deal so there will be very little deductions from Kell Brooks pay packet outside tax.

That said Crawford is a beast and I'm sure he'll stop Brook. not sure how ready Brook can be with a different training team. I'm not sure I want to be proved wrong either, I've followed Brook a long time and been to Sheffield for many of his fights. Yet sometimes patriotism is put aside to appreciate special talents and Crawford is one of those. There's potential super fights with Lopez, Josh Taylor and Errol Spence which wet the appetite. 

I'll be setting my alarm to wake up for a live showing. 

[Egg Shen]

 

[Egg Shen]

build up piece...

 

[Egg Shen]

fucking hell, ive gone in this one all week and im well up for it now. At the start of the week I could have cared less, but the build up has sold me. There's seems to he some genuine animosity between them too. All the optimism i have may disappear within 3 minutes but Brook seems bang up for it.

weight looks like it damn near killed him though.

[jimufctna24]

I have a soft spot for Brook. 

Hence I haven't bothered following the build-up to tonight's fight. I don't even want to entertain the possibility that he might pull off the upset, because I am very certain I would just end up disappointed. 

I think Crawford stops him somewhere between rounds 6 and 10. 

[David]

I'll be absolutely rooting for Brook, but I fully expect Crawford to win with relative ease any time after the 5th.

[Mr Lawrence]

I think Crawford will win eventually but not without early problems. Brook is tough as nails. I still don't really see the hype about Crawford, his resume isn't great. Whats the best victory on there? I know its through no fault of his own but i am still not convinced. 

Ricky Burns went all the way with Crawford. 

Just because people say your p4p this over an over again, it doesnt make it true.

Brook was winning the first 7 rounds against Spence and if he wasn't weight drained and hadn't had his eye socket smashed in against GGG he may have won. If Brook has genuinely trained and made the weight correctly i think he will go to 10 or 11, maybe points.

It’s great theres a no rehydration clause. I think Crawford will win but people will come out of there not saying hes the p4p best but more than likely asking more questions about him.

[wandshogun09]

It seems I have Premier Sports so I was able to watch this without any fucking about. 

Pretty much as expected, although a little bit quicker and easier for Crawford than I thought. The result felt inevitable though. Brook talked a good game going in and I don’t doubt he believed it, but it all just felt a bit too late for me. Plus Crawford is in his prime and Brook is winding down.

The undercard was hit and miss. The Franco vs Moloney 2 fight was a massive wet fart with the fight being called due to a clash of heads that didn’t appear to have happened. The damage seemed to come from a jab from what I saw. Even after multiple replays and angles. Right balls up and Arum was losing the head about it at ringside apparently.

Highlight of the whole card for me was the Vegas Larfield vs Juan Alberto Flores fight. First time seeing Larfield and I really enjoyed watching him. I’ll try to catch his fights going forward. Really exciting style. He looks like a 12 year old Brian Ortega with a Kostya Tsyzu hairdo but he definitely can scrap. 

[jimufctna24]

Brook did some good work in the opening rounds. 

However, as the commentators said, Crawford is a slow starter, similar to Loma and Usyk in that regard. You just knew that Crawford was going to adjust eventually, and he did. Although I did expect the bout to last a bit longer. 

Edited November 15, 2020 by jimufctna24

[Gooner]

I thought it would go for a few rounds longer too before the inevitable happened. I'm all for Crawford/Pacquiao next, for Brook I doubt it's the end of his fighting career whilst Khan is still officially active. 

[wandshogun09]

I’m not even considering Brook vs Khan as a possibility anymore. Not again. Fuck that game. If they couldn’t get it done before when it could’ve been held in a huge stadium domestically, I’m struggling to see it now there’s no live gate. If it happens cool but I’m not holding my breath.

I’d be up for Crawford vs Pacquiao but I’d rather see how Spence looks against Garcia first. Crawford vs Spence would be the one for me but I understand why they’re both angling for the Pacquiao fight given his name and age. 

 

[Gooner]

Can put Brook/Khan on in local park, probably best place for it. If people come back into arena's I could still see it selling out and doing decent numbers with their history/rivalry. Neither of them are good enough at the top world level anymore as we are all aware off, but recent losses are both losing to Crawford and Canelo/GGG/Spence respectively so they can always use that to convince people they are not completely washed up. 

 

 

[Mr Lawrence]

Crawford done really well, adjusted his style when needed. I still find it hard to judge him though with his resume. Brooks whiskers are gone, first time he got clipped he went. Fairplay to him if he got a good payday from it.  Hope he enjoys his retirement. Hopefully we get Spence/Crawford next year.

Would be a great bit of promoting if they managed to get Brook/Khan on PPV, wouldn't begrudge them either and i’d probably still buy it. Two great servants to British boxing for the last 10/15 years. 

[kamicazze]

Brook vs Khan isn't what it was, still a very sellable fight. They're not as relevant as they were.

I think there's a common thing in boxing to say fighters are past their peak. The only part of these 2 that's past their peak is Brooks sub-concious isn;t great at taking shots anymore, and I think from Khan's perspective he won't have the discipline of his younger years. 

Maybe they were just 2 really good world class fighters that weren't quite elite - especially when you look at their losses. Those losses have devalued the fight in boxing eyes. If it was tennis and 2 tennis world class players or 2 darts players the excitement would be there.

On this fight - Brook didn't look shot. He looked sharp. He looked a little drained, and little unconditioned which suggests he didn't have the most adequate sparring for it. It's weird to see a top level fighter covering up like a novice would.  Dom Ingle's most recent IFL tv interview kind of suggests the same where Kell had a few hype people around him. Crawford nonetheless impressive.