WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford has shrugged off Kell Brook’s claims that he will shock the world and stop the Nebraskan maestro in their clash at the ‘Bubble’ in the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, on Saturday night.
Former IBF king Brook has been in hot pursuit of Crawford for some time, but the WBO title-holder says the Sheffield man was never on his radar until a money-spinning encounter with Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao in Qatar fell through earlier this year.
The challenger is promising an upset knockout win, but Crawford sees an entirely different outcome and the bookies agree with Brook a sizable 15/2 underdog at BetFred.
“He’s not the only opponent that went into the fight thinking they were going to stop me or knock me out, so that’s nothing new for me. He’s just going to have to live up to his words,” said Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs).
“I actually can’t rate him because I’ve never been in the ring with him. Actually, he was never on my radar from the jump. This was a fight that he wanted, that he kept calling for. Once the Pacquiao fight fell through, he was the next option given the circumstances of Covid and whatnot. I must’ve been on his radar. He was never on my radar. He’s on my radar now and we’re fighting this weekend. That’s what it is.
“Well, he’s never faced nobody like me. He can say I never faced nobody like him and I can say he’s never faced nobody like me. I don’t know what he brings to the table because I haven’t been there. I haven’t been in the ring with him, so we shall see come this week.”
Crawford-Brook will air live on ESPN & ESPN Deportes at 10pm ET in the US on Saturday. UK fans can watch all the action on Premier Sports 1, starting at 12am Sunday morning.