Kell Brook calls Terence Crawford a 'special fighter' after defeat as American bids to take on Manny Pacquiao
Kell Brook conceded that Terence Crawford was a special fighter after a defeat that could signal the end of the British welterweight’s aspirations to become a two-time world champion.
Crawford stopped Brook with a chopping right hook in the fourth round of the World Boxing Organisation title fight in Las Vegas, prompting the Sheffield fighter to pay the utmost tribute to his American opponent.
“Nobody has ever done that to me, in sparring or anything,” said the 34-year-old Brook, who was sent careering into the ropes, given a standing count and quickly finished off by a flurry of brutal hooks and scything uppercuts.
Crawford, the 33-year-old Nebraskan who is now unbeaten in 37 contests and a three-weight world champion, is considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
“It was one of them… I got caught with a shot I didn’t see,” admitted Brook, who suffered his third career loss. “I’m gutted because nobody could’ve gotten me in better condition. I was bang on the limit. Maybe I could’ve been a bit more relaxed and loose and let the shots go.”
Brook used his jab and lead right effectively in the opening three rounds, but once Crawford switched from orthodox to southpaw, and went hunting for spiteful shots, the world champion began to disrupt Brook’s timing and forced him to lose his range.
“Kell is a tremendous talent. He came and he tried to take my title,” said Crawford. “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. 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.”
Having seen off Brook Crawford called out Manny Pacquiao for a superfight that could take place in the Middle East.
“I already said who I want next. I want Pacquiao. 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 per cent done. We had the venue. The money was almost there. It wasn’t quite there. That was the only thing we were waiting on.”
