By Chris Williams: Kell Brook has been offered $1.5 million by the management for WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford to face him in November on ESPN.
Mike Coppinger is reporting that Brook (39-2, 27 KOs) has been offered the fight for $1.5 million, which is less than what fellow Brit Amir Khan was given last year to challenge Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) for his WBO 147-pound strap.
The Crawford vs. Khan fight took place on ESPN pay-per-view during a different time before the pandemic. It’s going to be challenging to come up with the big money that Brook might want right now.
For $1.5 million, Brook might not be willing to agree to that, considering that’s not a lot given the risk involved. To be challenging for a world title against a fighter that some boxing fans view as the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, Brook deserves more than $1.5M.
It’s not just the fact that Brook is facing a highly rated fighter. He’s taking a significant risk with his career. Losing to Crawford would a tremendous setback to Brook’s career, which has been floundering since his consecutive defeats to Gennady Golovkin and Errol Spence Jr in 2016 and 2017.
Does Brook deserve less money than Khan?
Brook would likely want $4 million, the kind of money that Khan received, to challenge Crawford for his WBO welterweight world title in 2020. It would be a bitter pill for Brook to swallow for him to receive, not even 50% of what Khan got to fight Crawford in 2019.
Fans would argue that Brook is still a better fighter than Khan, even now at 34, and he’s been in big fights in the past. Why would Brook agree to less than half of what Khan received to face Crawford?
With Brook likely to be the considerable underdog in challenging Crawford in the U.S in Las Vegas, Nevada, wouldn’t he want at least the $4 million that Khan supposedly got to face the Nebraska native?
#9 WBC contender Josesito Lopez was offered the fight first with the 32-year-old Crawford, but he’s unavailable right now. Josesito is expected to face former WBO light-welterweight champion Maurice Hooker on the Errol Spence Jr vs. Danny Garcia card on November 21 on Fox Sports pay-per-view.
“Kell Brook has been offered around $1.5 million for a November bout on an ESPN platform vs. 147-pound champ Terence Crawford, sources tell @TheAthletic,” said @MikeCoppinger.
“Josesito Lopez previously approached about fighting Crawford but he’s likely fighting Maurice Hooker on Spence-Garcia undercard.”
Can Kell make 147 for Crawford?
What’s lost in the equation of Brook being offered just $1.5 million for the Crawford fight is the question of whether Kell can even make the 147lb weight limit without going over. You’ve got to believe that there will be a stiff weight penalty that goes along with the Crawford vs. Brook fight.
Let’s assume for a second that Brook comes in two pounds over the 147-lb weigh-in limit at 149 if the weight penalty is $1 million per pound. For example, Kell would wind up LOSING money rather than making money for the fight. What kind of deal is that? Even if the weight penalty is less than $1 million, that’s still a lousy deal for Brook.
Brook coming into the fight weight drained from having melted down to 147, a number that he HASN’T fought at since his loss to Errol Spence Jr in 2017, it’s not going to work out well for him. The reason Brook ran out of energy against Spence was that he was weight drained, and now he wants to do it again three years later in 2020? It doesn’t make any sense at all.
Back in 2017, Brook could still afford to absorb a loss against Spence, as he’d only been beaten once in his career to Golovkin. But right now, Brook’s career is on skidrow, and he can’t take another defeat without hurting what’s left of his once-promising profession.
The way Chris Williams sees it, the only way the Crawford fight makes sense for Brook is if the match takes place at 154 pounds, and Kell gets the same kind of green that Khan got to face the Nebraska native. Without Brook getting the same type of money Khan received and fighting at 154, it’s a bad deal.
Brook will be weight drained at 147
‘The Special One’ Brook will be skeletal at 147, whereas Crawford will be healthy, the money will be chump change, especially if Kell comes in two or three pounds overweight. With all the weight penalty deductions, Brook will wind up giving away everything that he was supposed to get for the fight. What kind of deal is that?
Keith Thurman had the right idea. He asked for $10 million for the Crawford fight, and that sounds like a fair request. Brook should be asking for similar money. At least that way, if he comes in three to five pounds over the 147-pound weight limit, he’ll have something left after dealing with the weight penalty.