Terence Crawford comes alive in round 4 to stop Kell Brook

WBO champion Terence Crawford got off to a slow start against Kell Brook but woke up quickly and brought about a quick finish in round 4. 

WBO welterweight boxing champion Terence Crawford and former titlist Kell Brook were front and center as Top Rank’s main event on Saturday, Nov. 14. Crawford was heavily favored against Brook, but Brook had a good showing early in the fight.

Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) is one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world. He has held titles in three different divisions and was the undisputed junior welterweight champion before moving up to welterweight in 2018 when he defeated Australia’s Jeff Horn for the WBO title.

Brook (39-2, 27 KOs) also knows what it’s like to be a champion. He reigned as the IBF welterweight champion from 2014 to 2017. Brook’s career went off the rails when he unwisely went up to middleweight to challenge Gennadiy Golovkin. Golovkin stopped Brook in 5 and broke his orbital bone in the process. Brook suffered another orbital break in his next contest against Errol Spence Jr., who took his IBF belt.

Brook strung together three victories before meeting Crawford. In the first three rounds, Brook looked like the champion he was six years ago. He was using his jab and giving Terence Crawford problems. And then Crawford sprung into action.

Kell Brook got off to a good start against Terence Crawford, but Crawford took his time and found a big opening

Crawford had a hard time getting inside of Brook’s reach. He struggled to win rounds but remained patient. Crawford switched to southpaw from his orthodox stance and started to score more.

In round 4, Brook felt like he was in the fight, and he let his guard down for a second. That’s all Crawford needed to throw a short right hook that smashed Brook’s nose and sent him flying back to the ropes.

Crawford jumped on Brook, but the referee stopped Crawford’s onslaught and started the eight-count because the ropes held Brook up.

When action resumed, Crawford went in to end things. He trapped Brook on the ropes and battered him with powerful left and right hooks. Brook was defenseless, and referee Ricky Gonzalez waved off the fight giving Crawford a round 4 TKO victory.

It took Golovkin five rounds and division rival Spence eleven to stop Brook. Crawford outdid them both with his round 4 finish of Brook. Crawford and Spence are in a tug-of-war over the public’s opinion of who is the best welterweight in the world. Crawford pulled ahead with his performance against Brook.

Crawford’s contract with promoter Top Rank is up in 2021. Most of the welterweight talent is under the PBC banner. Time will tell if Crawford stays with Top Rank or moves on to unify the division against Spence. Crawford vs. Spence is one of the most desired bouts in all of boxing. Crawford looks like the frontrunner after his destruction of Brook.