Kell Brook refused to say that Terence Crawford is a better fighter than Errol Spence Jr and the other elite fighters despite losing to him by a fourth-round knockout last Saturday night.
Crawford caught Brook with a right hand that he didn’t see, and that’s what caused the knockout in the forth. It wasn’t the power or lack thereof.
It was very obvious from watching the Crawford-Brook fight that Crawford’s punching power is nowhere near that of Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) and many of the other 147-pounders. And, of course, Crawford’s isn’t in the same league as Gennadiy Golovkin who Brook lasted until the fifth round against in 2016.
While being peppered with questions by the ESPN commentators after his loss to WBO welterweight champion Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs), Brook (39-3, 27 KOs) wouldn’t say the words that they clearly wanted to hear him say.
You couldn’t expect Brook to bend the truth to try and make Crawford out to be better than he actually was last Saturday.
Crawford didn’t look that great in winning. Brook got the better of him in the first three rounds and likely would have continued his domination if he hadn’t been hurt by a weak-looking right hand from the Top Rank-promoted fighter in the fourth.
Crawford’s power was comparable to some of the contenders at 147 like Amir Khan, Jamal James, and Mikael Zewski.
“With that performance, he’s obviously up there, isn’t he? He’s up there. But I still can’t stand here and say he’s better than Spence or these elite fighters because it could happen to each one of us with the right shot,” said Brook last Saturday night in talking about Crawford. “We’re all great finishers and he landed tonight.”
Crawford is never going to be a big puncher, and that’s just the way it is. Right now, Crawford is winning because of his timing and counter-punching ability. You argue that the soft match-making Top Rank has been doing on Crawford’s behalf has contributed to his success.
If Crawford had already fought Spence, Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman, and Yordenis Ugas by now, the chances are he’d already have three or four losses on his record. Power isn’t what Crawford is about. His game is timing, counter-punching, and his quick reflexes, which will begin deteriorating as he ages.
Brook not sure if he’ll retire
“I don’t know. I have to speak to my family. It might be the end of the road.”
If Brook retires now, he’ll miss out on a potential Amir Khan fight down the road. Also, Brook can still make money fighting the PBC welterweights like Thurman, Porter, and Danny Garcia.
Right now, Brook needs to stay active, get some wins under his belt, and figure out which weight class he wants to fight at. If Brook’s punch resistance isn’t the same at 147 as it was at 154, he needs to move back up in weight. It was disturbing to see Brook hurt by such a weak punch from Crawford in the fourth round. Brook has taken much bigger shots from Spence and Golovkin and not shown any ill effects.
“I obviously got caught with a shot that I didn’t see,” Brook said about being hurt by Crawford. “The referee waved it off. That’s never happened before.
“I’ve always said that if I’m in a fight, I want to go out on my shield. The referee obviously saw that I couldn’t continue, so the fight is over.