Terence Crawford 146.4 vs. Kell Brook 147 – weigh-in results

By Boxing News - 11/13/2020 - Comments

By Matt Lieberman: WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford ((36-0, 27 KOs) weighed in at 146.4 pounds while his opponent Kell Brook weighed in at 147 lbs for their fight this Saturday night on ESPN and ESPN+ in ‘The Bubble’ at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

(Photo Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images)

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The former IBF welterweight champion Brook (39-2, 27 KOs) made the 147-pound limit for the first time since his 11th round knockout defeat to Errol Spence Jr on May 27th, 2017.

Brook, 34, looked amazing at the weight, and perhaps better than he has since his fight against Vyacheslav Senchenko in 2013.

It helps that Brook trained hard for months and didn’t have to drain himself as he’d done in the past. Brook didn’t look drained as he did for the weigh-in against Errol Spence three years ago.

The real question is whether Brook will have the strength to fight hard on Saturday night if the contest stretches into the championship rounds. It’s likely that Crawford, 33, will try and set a fast pace to wear Brook down.

That approach could be a risky one for Crawford because he’ll put himself in danger of getting hit a lot by Brook, who is a better puncher than the guys that his promoters at Top Rank have been digging up for him at 147.

In co-feature weights, WBA super flyweight champion Joshua Franco (17-1-2 8 KOs) weighed in at 114.5 lbs for his title defense against Andrew Moloney (21-1, 14 KOs0. For his part, Moloney weighed 114.7 lbs.

Franco defeated Moloney by a close 12 round unanimous decision last summer on June 23  in Las Vegas.

Bellew: This is a dangerous match for Brook

“Credit for Kell Brook for taking this fight,” said Tony Bellew to IFL TV. “Looking from the outside, it’s a very dangerous match because this is the first time he’d made welterweight since Errol Spence.

“Although he looks in phenomenal shape, it’s a struggle, it really is. He has a different training team around him and a different location, yes. The thing with Kell Brook, and it’s mad that I’m saying this, but have we ever seen his full potential fulfilled?

“At welterweight, I just don’t know that we have. He only goes well in a fight when he knows he’s going to see 12 rounds. He just goes all out from round one until the end. I think it was a great showing against  Spence.

“I think he was having a good go against Spence until what happened happened,” Bellew said about Brook suffering an eye injury that eventually led to Kell being stopped by Errol.

“Kell is one of the most massive talents this country has ever produced. I’d hate to see his career go down as someone that has underachieved. I’d hate to see that because it wouldn’t be fair.

“He’s had the opportunities, and he’s fought some of the brilliant fighters of this era. The likes of Golovkin, the likes of Spence, but something is missing,” said Bellew.

If Brook runs out of gas against Crawford, he’ll get stopped as he did in his loss to Spence. Presumably, Brook has been sparring hard and knows whether he can handle a fast-paced fight against Crawford.

Brook’s best chance is to use his power and size to go after Crawford early before he starts feeling the effects of his weight loss. It’ll be interesting if Brook doesn’t gas out.

If Kell’s stamina holds out, Crawford could be in for the fight of his life. If little 5’5″ Yuriorkis Gamboa was able to wobble Crawford, Brook could take him out.

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Tony says the deck is stacked against Brook

“I don’t like the fight going in,” Bellew said of the Crawford vs. Brook fight. “I just think it’s stacked in Crawford’s favor, but I think Crawford is an amazing fighter.

“He’s got an argument that he’s the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now. His victories over the years have been nothing short of astounding and phenomenal the way he’s gone about them. So I expect a ruthless Terence Crawford.

“I think Kell’s size will be a bit of a factor early doors,” said Bellew. “It’s not so much the size because he’s not that much bigger [than Crawford]. Kell’s not that much bigger,” said Bellew.

You have to agree that Crawford has a big advantage in choosing to drag Brook down from 154 rather than meeting him in his own weight class.

Brook could use his superior weight and size to get the better of Crawford on Saturday, and that’s something that Bellew is overlooking.

Kell’s strength will be a factor early

“The general all-around strength of Kell will be an issue for the first couple of rounds, but I also believe the weight will be an issue when he gets back down there [to 147],” Bellew said.

“Fighters don’t make weight easier when they get back down there. That’s not me putting it out there. That’s just a fact. As fighters get older, they do not make weight better.

“They deteriorate as they get older. Every single fighter in the history of boxing has done it. Any fighter that has gone up [in weight] and comes back down.

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“There’s only one fighter in the history of boxing that’s done it with great success. Only one fighter had gone up and had real success when they came back down, and that’s Floyd Mayweather.

“I just think Canelo coming back down to welterweight after messing around at middleweight, and then messing around at light middleweight and now coming back down to welterweight, I don’t think it ends well.

“I hope he proves me wrong. I’m backing him and hoping he wins, but if you ask me if he’s going to win? No. Terence Crawford is a special fighter,” said Bellew.

Brook will definitely be powerful early, and Crawford could be barking up the wrong tree if he tries to trade. We’ll see if Bellew is correct about his prediction of Brook gassing as the fight wears on.

Not every fighter gasses out after they come back down in weight and Brook could be the exception if he’s taken the weight off correctly.