On Saturday, November 14, 2020, pound-for-pound stud and WBO Welterweight champion, Terence “Bud” Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) returns to action against former IBF 147-pound champion, Kell Brook (39-2, 27 KOs).
Crawford-Brook is supported by a solid undercard, including a championship rematch between Joshua Franco and Andrew Moloney, as well as the return of heavy-hitting prospect, Elvis Rodriguez.
The fights will be broadcast live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes starting at 10:00 pm, ET/7:00 pm, ET, with undercard action to stream live on ESPN+ at 7:00 pm, ET/4:00 pm, PT.
While Brook is no slouch, the boxing world has been patiently waiting for Crawford to face an upper-echelon Welterweight like Errol Spence Jr., Shawn Porter or even the past-his-best, Manny Pacquiao.
Bob Arum would tell you that Brook is at the level of those aforementioned fighters, but the fact is we just don’t know if the Sheffield, England man can still hang with the top fighters of his division.
“Kell Brook is one of the elite fighters in the world,” said Arum. “He has faced so many of the top boxers,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum.
He has indeed faced top boxers–like Shawn Porter, Gennadiy Golovkin and Spence–but it’s been quite a while. Over three years to be exact. The last time he fought a top-level opponent was in May of 2017 when Brook lost his IBF title to Spence.
But if he’s in prime form, he’ll definitely give Crawford all he can handle and possibly even spring the upset.
“I’ve been told there are people writing off my chances, questioning my age, and my ability to make the weight. Well, let them talk,” said Brook. “Some people focus on reading headlines, I focus on making headlines. Those people writing me off as a big underdog? No problem. I guess this big dog will be making a few people richer during a difficult time.”
The odds for Crawford vs. Brook opened around -1000 to +550 in favor of the American champion (per SportsBettingDime.com). As fight night approaches, Crawford’s odds have gotten even shorter. On average, he’s a -1700 favorite, with Brook fading to +810. The betting market gives Crawford nearly a 90 percentage probability of winning on November 14.
How to Watch Crawford vs. Brook
Date: Saturday, Nov. 14 | Start Time: 7:00 pm ET Location: Top Rank Bubble, Las Vegas, NV TV: ESPN | Stream: ESPN+ (Prelims) Live Online Coverage: RoundByRoundBoxing.com Mobile App Updates: RBRBoxing App
Brook has looked strong in training, and while his sites are set fully on dethroning Crawford, the Omaha, Nebraska native has continuously been bombarded with questions regarding other matchups–specifically against Spence.
In a recent special on ESPN, Relentless: Terence Crawford, Crawford rattled off the fighters he’d like to face before hanging up the gloves.
“If I could fight all the fighters, you know, and then walk away, Pacquiao would be the number one,” said Crawford. “Spence, he’ll be right after that. Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman, and that’s it.”
That’s quite the list.
But, fighting all of those names, or even one of them, may prove to be difficult given boxing’s political divide. One thing is for sure, without a victory over Kell Brook on Saturday, the allure of Crawford facing the cream of the Premier Boxing Champions crop will all but fade away.
