Posted on 09/06/2020
By: Hans Themistode
Kell Brook is on the verge of getting exactly what he wants.
7th February 2020
Picture By Mark Robinson.
The former 147 pound belt holder has been on a full fledged campaign to get a showdown with current WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford. Now it appears that he’ll get his wish as both sides are inching towards the finish line.
Originally, with Top Rank offering Brook 1.5 million to take the bout with Crawford, their negotiations seemed to be dead in the water. However, sources close to the situation have told The Athletic that they have since upped their offer to roughly two million.
Although Top Rank seems to have placated the financial worries of Brook, Crawford on the other hand, hasn’t agreed to his purse just yet. Despite that, he has acknowledged that the Brook contest is number one on his radar and his ring return will take place later on this year.
“That’s what they saying is at the top of the list,” said Crawford as he watched his good buddy Jamel Herring dismantle Jonathan Oquendo. If it’s Kell Brook that I’m fighting then it’s Kell Brook that I’m fighting. Hopefully November, that’s the plan”
For Brook, his days of fighting on the big stage were thought to be long gone. After back to back losses to both Gennadiy Golovkin and Errol Spence Jr. in 2016 and 2017 respectively, Brook suffered consecutive orbital fractures and a loss of motivation. Since then, he’s abandoned the 147 pound division all together and began making noise at 154. Yet with three straight victories under his belt against less than stellar competition, Brook has decided to move back down in weight. In the past he’s complained that squeezing down his Jr middleweight frame to the welterweight limit has cost him on fight night.
With that being said, a matchup with who many consider the best fighter in the world has apparently changed his mind.
As for Crawford, a showdown with Brook may represent the fourth defense of WBO title, but for fans of the Nebraska native, he isn’t the name most were hoping for.
Over the past several months, Crawford has gone back and forth with former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman. In addition to the former titlist, promoter Bob Arum was optimistic of his chances in getting eight division champion and current WBA welterweight belt holder Manny Pacquiao into the ring with Crawford.
Despite the confidence, nothing ever materialized with either man which left the door wide open for a Brook vs Crawford matchup.
In terms of the possible date and location, nothing has been finalized but Arum is zeroing in on mid November.