Kell Brook: I Believe I Can Beat Crawford, Khan Didn’t Have That Mindset
Kell Brook is confident of beating pound-for-pound superstar Tercence Crawford when they square off on November 14.
The former IBF welterweight champion is taking yet another huge fight against one of the world’s best after previously falling short against Gennady Golovkin and Errol Spence. Brook will be a heavy underdog heading into his fight with Crawford but he’s determined to prove people wrong.
“That’s the kind of thing I love because the haters are motivators and it’s what people perceive,” Brook said. “But the people who’ve been around me know how I’ve been, they know how determined I am and how motivated I am for this fight. I’ve left no stone unturned.”
The 34-year-old admits his opponent is very good. Brook is using Teofimo Lopez’s recent win over pound-for-pound number one Vasilliy Lomachenko as motivation for his upcoming bout.
“Crawford is very good, that’s why he’s arguably top three pound-for-pound – so he’s obviously good, isn’t he? Some people have him at number one. But look what [Teofimo] Lopez, who’s 23 [years-old] did to [Vasilliy] Lomachenko at the weekend. This is boxing we’re involved in.”
Brook believes he’ll have a significant size advantage on fight night.
“I’m happy. At the end of the day, he’s not boxed anyone the size of me. This is a real fight, it’s a real, top, elite welterweight he’s fighting and a lot of people are talking about age but he’s only a year younger than me, I’m naturally the bigger guy, I’m healthy and a big thing is there’s no [next day] weight limit. With the IBF, I had to make weight, then I had to make weight the next day but what I’ll be is what I’ll be the next day, so the pressure’s on him. I take my hat off to Terence Crawford taking this fight against me. He knows it’s a dangerous fight. He knows. When I went and saw him, he knew I wasn’t a walkover. He said, ‘You just make weight.’ I’ve never gone to the scales and not made weight. I’ve always made weight first time. I’ve never been to a weigh in and used that hour to make weight, I’ve always made it.”
Amir Khan previously fell short when he faced off against Crawford back in April last year. Khan was stopped in round six by ‘Bud’ who bossed the fight from start to finish but Brook doesn’t believe his long-time rival approached the fight with the right mindset.
“I thought he did what he wanted to do in that fight but we’re talking about Khan and he didn’t go in there with the mindset I’ve got and that’s going in there believing I’m going to win,” said Brook. “I don’t think he believed he was going to win.” (Transcribed by Boxing Scene)
Do you think Kell Brook can upset Terence Crawford on November 14?
