By Chris Williams: Andre Ward says Terence Crawford will have all the pressure on his shoulders when he faces Kell Brook this Saturday, November 14th, on ESPN. WBO welterweight champion Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) has the pressure on him because he’s ranked near the top of the pound-for-pound lists, according to Ward.
Also, the perception that the 34-year-old Brook has been over-the-hill since his consecutive defeats against Gennady Golovkin and Errol Spence Jr puts further weight on the 33-year-old Crawford’s shoulders.
With all that pressure, Crawford is in a no-win situation for the fight against former IBF welterweight champion Brook (39-2, 27 KOs). If Crawford destroys Brook, boxing fans will minimize the victory by pointing out that Brook hasn’t looked good since his loss to Spence in 2018.
Crawford’s contract with Top Rank is expiring in 2021, and this could be his last fight with the promotional company. Unless Top Rank can convince Crawford to re-up with them yet again, he’s likely to move on and sign with Premier Boxing Champions [PBC].
If Crawford signs with PBC, he would have the opportunity to fight these top welterweights:
- Errol Spence Jr
- Keith Thurman
- Shawn Porter
- Danny Garcia
- Yordenis Ugas
It’ll be interesting to see if Crawford stays loyal to Top Rank boss Bob Arum and stays with him for another hitch.
Ward: Brook is the same guy that fought Golovkin
“Next Saturday night, Crawford takes on Kell Brook, who was once good enough to beat Shawn Porter decisively, and no one beats Shawn Porter decisively,” said Max Kellerman on Max on Boxing.
“This is Terence Crawford, by the time he gets in the ring, a year layoff,” said Andre Ward. “He’s at the top of the pound-for-pound list universally at this point.
“He’s been at the top of my list, and when you’re at the top of the list, you come into every single fight with a heavy burden. Every single fight that you have, you’re going to be reappraised from your fans, your doubters, and the naysayers, and they’re going to see if there’s any slippage.
“I don’t think there’s going to be any slippage with Kell Brook,” Ward said. “Kell Brook is going to fight as hard as he can for as long as he can, and Kell Brook is a fearless fighter.
“He’s the same guy that went up two weight classes to fight Gennadiy Golovkin when Golovkin was considered the most dangerous man in the world,” said Ward.
It’s unrealistic to assume that Brook is the same guy that fought middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin four years ago in 2016. Brook was 30-years-old when he fought GGG, and he was at the zenith of his career.
Given the injuries that Brook has sustained to his eyes, his inactivity, the pedestrian level opposition that he’s faced since 2016, he can’t be the same fighter he once was.
If you take a chess champion and let him sit on the shelf for four years, playing against novices, you can’t expect that player to be the same as before.
Brook may not need to be the same fighter he was because Crawford has never fought the best in any of the weight classes he’s competed in. You hate to say it, but Crawford is a complete question mark, given the weak opposition he’s faced during his career.
Crawford’s last ten fights:
- Egidijus Kavaliauskas
- Amir Khan
- Jose Benavidez Jr
- Jeff Horn
- Julius Indongo
- Felix Diaz
- John Molina Jr
- Viktor Postol
- Henry Lundy
- Dierry Jean
If you know anything about boxing, you’ll realize that Crawford has been facing poor opposition throughout his 12-year pro career. That’s why you don’t know how Crawford will do against Brook because he’s fought too many subpar opponents.
Brook is the best fight that could be made for Crawford
“Here’s the thing. I hear a lot of people down on the Brook fight,” Ward continued. “What’s the other great fight that can be made for Terence that’s not a PBC welterweight, a contender over at PBC, or one of the champions?
“This is the best fight that Crawford could make. If Kell Brook was good enough for Golovkin to face and go up two weight classes, he’s good enough for Terence Crawford to face at this point in his career.
“I understand people feel that there’s slippage with Kell Brook, and he’s not the same. Time will tell. You never underestimate an old dog like Kell Brook, who is fighting for his boxing future.
“He’s dangerous. Crawford has all the pressure on him where he doesn’t have to just look good. He doesn’t have to just win.
“He has to look good doing it, and he has to affirm and confirm why he’s atop the pound-for-pound,” said Ward of Crawford.
In some respects, Ward is correct about Brook being the best fight that could be made for Crawford at 147. Right now, that’s probably true. But it’s not the best fight that can be made for Crawford.
If Crawford were willing to field fights against 154 and 160-pounders like Jermell Charlo, Jermall Charlo, Erislandy Lara, and Gennadiy Golovkin, he would have some great matches. But, of course, those would be fights in which Crawford would likely be beaten.
It’ll be interesting to see if ESPN commentators Ward and Kellerman are still smothering Crawford with praise if he leaves Top Rank and signs with PBC. Will Crawford still be given the praise he’s given now by Kellerman and Ward if he jumps overboard and signs with Premier Boxing Champions?
Chris Williams suspects that we’ll rarely hear Crawford’s name from the ESPN commentators if and when he leaves Top Rank.
Crawford’s performance against Kell will be compared to Spence’s
“Let’s face it if [Errol] Spence gets past [Danny] Garcia; we’re going to be looking at Spence and Crawford.
“Like come on y’all, work it out, get in the ring,” said Kellerman. “Errol Spence beat Kell Brook in a hell of a fight. We’re going to be comparing Crawford’s performance. Of course, Brook was at a different point in his career.”
It goes without saying that Crawford’s performance against Brook will be compared to Errol Spence’s performance, but it’s not going to be an accurate comparison. Two years ago, Spence fought Brook, and the British fighter was younger then and still at his best.
That was before inertia took over with Brook, resulting in him rarely fighting and facing tune-up level guys repeatedly. Given the time and how Brook has wrecked his career, you can’t compare Crawford’s performance against him to Spence’s. Too much time has gone by, and Brook has turned into a part-time fighter.
Crawford and Top Rank count on the casual boxing fans not being aware of Brook’s injuries, inability, and poor opposition in the last two years of his career.
If the fans aren’t aware of how Brook’s career has imploded, they’ll be impressed if Crawford defeats him and looks good in doing so. But in reality, there’s more for Crawford to lose in this fight than for him to gain.
It would have been better if Crawford took a risk by fighting one of the Charlo brothers, Lara or Golovkin, because the upside would be huge and the downside minimal. But by facing Brook, Crawford won’t gain anything if he wins, and he’ll be trashed by boxing fans if he struggles to get a victory or if he loses.