Terence Crawford defends his WBO welterweight title against former welterweight champion Kell Brook on November 14, 2020, at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Paradise, Nevada.
Crawford will be making the 4th defense of the title he won from Jeff Horn in June of 2018. Bud is coming off a 9th round TKO win over Egidijus Kavaliauskas last December. Meanwhile, Brook will be looking to become champion again four fights after losing the IBF welterweight title to Errol Spence in May 2017. Brook heads to this bout after a 7th round TKO win over Mark DeLuca last February 8th.
Omaha’s pride is a three-weight division champion. Crawford’s first world title came at lightweight and he went on to become the undisputed 140-pound champion. Bud became the first boxer to hold the four major belts simultaneously since Jermain Taylor in 2005. With junior welterweight already cleaned up, he moved up to the lucrative welterweight division and defeated Jeff Horn in 2018 to win the WBO welterweight title.
Crawford is undefeated in 36 bouts and has 27 knockouts. He has won 10 out of is last 11 bouts via stoppage including his last seven. He is 15-0 with 12 knockouts in world title fights. The 33-year old Crawford stands 5-8 tall with a reach of 74 inches. He fights from orthodox but can comfortably switch-hit during bouts.
Kell Brook is a former IBF welterweight champion. This 34-year old from Sheffield was once ranked by The Ring as the best welterweight in the world However, an undefeated Brook who was at the peak of his powers, inexplicably moved up two weight classes to challenge Gennady Golovkin in 2016. He lost that bout via 5th round KO and broke his orbital bone in the process. He suffered a second consecutive loss to Errol Spence in his next fight, losing the IBF belt and re-injuring his eye in the bout. Brook has won three in a row since suffering the first two losses of his career.
Special has a record of 39-2 with 27 knockouts. He won the vacant WBO inter-continental light middleweight title by stopping Mark DeLuca last February. He moves back to welterweight to challenge Crawford for the WBO 147-pound belt. Brook is 5-9 tall with a reach of 69 ½ inches and is an orthodox fighter.
Crawford is one of the best technical boxers in the sport and is a polished defensive fighter with great head and shoulder movement. His ability to fight from both stances makes him a tough read for his opponents. He is also a terrific counter-puncher who has a very powerful right hand. Brook also has a high fight IQ. He doesn’t have one-punch knockout power but can do damage with the accumulation of blows. He can fight from both the inside and outside plus he also has very good counter punching skills. However, Brook has not looked the same since suffering back to back losses to Golovkin and Spence. He’s won three in a row but his confidence level doesn’t to be what it was during his peak.
Brook is the bigger fighter here and I think that Crawford will be cautious when going for the stoppage. The best strategy for Crawford would be to use his quickness and hand speed to pick Brook apart. Brook is no easy prey but Crawford has the skills to outbox him for 12 rounds. The Brit is a durable fighter as he went 11 rounds with Spence. I think this is going to be a long fight. It should go to at least the championship rounds. Whether Crawford gets the stoppage or not is beside the point. When picking a winner, there is no doubt that it’s Terence Crawford. However, he is too expensive at -1300.
Prediction: Terence Crawford
Terence Crawford has stopped seven straight opponents and ten out of his last 11 foes. That’s an impressive record. Brook meanwhile has been stopped in his two losses so it wouldn’t be a surprise if you would go for the no here. But that’s currently priced at -275 and given that Brook is the much bigger fighter between the two, I like this fight to go the distance. Some people think that Brook is over the hill but remember he is only 30 years old and his losses have come against Spence and Golovkin. No matter who he’s fought recently, Brook is an elite at this weight class. I don’t expect him to win but won’t be surprised if he pulls off the upset. Likewise, I think that there will be no knockout in this fight. Brook is the bigger man and is arguably the best welterweight that Bud has ever seen so far.
Prediction: Yes +200 via Bet365
Crawford has gone at least nine rounds in four out of his last six bouts including three out of his last four. While he’s gone over 9.5 rounds just twice during that period, the fact is that Bud’s fights have lasted longer if he’s up against bigger opponents. Such was the case with Horn, Benavidez, and Kavaliauskas recently. With Brook having a slight height advantage and the benefit of fighting at super middleweight and even middleweight in his recent bouts, I think that Crawford will be in for a long night on Saturday. I’m not discounting the possibility of a knockout here but to do that, he must wear out Brook and that will take some time.
Prediction: Take the over 9.5 rounds
Crawford has gone the distance only 9 times in 27 bouts. That means 67% of his bouts have been won via stoppage. He’s stopped his last seven foes but three out of his last four bouts have gone at least nine rounds. Again, I’m not discounting the possibility of Crawford stopping Brook. But if Bud wins by knockout or TKO, it will be because of accumulated damage more than one-punch knockout power. Brook is the bigger fighter and he can absorb punishment.
Prediction: Give me Rounds 10-12 here at +300
If you’re one of the majority who thinks that Crawford wins this bout, you have to look for prop bets to make some good money. Crawford is at least -1300 at the Moneyline. But you can have him for +300 to win between Rounds 10-12 or +250 to win by decision at Bet365. I think it’s a long fight and I won’t argue if you pick either. Put a gun on my head though and I will tell you I”m going with Crawford via stoppage late in the fight.
Prediction: Crawford to win between Rounds 10-12 at +300
If you’re going with the underdog here, Kell Brook to win via decision/technical decision and KO/TKO/DQ are both at +1400 at Bet365. When you look at the two though, there’s a bigger chance that Brook wins this fight if it doesn’t go the distance. Crawford is faster and quicker and he should win if this goes to the judges. But if Brook can hurt him, who knows.
Prediction: I’m not betting Kell Brook. But if I am, I’m going with KO/TKO/DQ at +1400
I don’t know if someone is thinking this way but if you’re unsure about who wins this fight, there are a couple of prop bets that I like. Betting this fight to go the distance is at +200 and I know that there’s a good chance that Crawford wins via stoppage. But between that and the no which is at -275, I’ll go with the former. This should be a long fight and I won’t be surprised if Brook goes the distance.
Prediction: Fight to go the distance- YES +200
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