Dubai: There is just one man that everybody calls out subsequent to a win in the lightweight to welterweight division, and that’s Filipino boxing icon, Manny Pacquiao.
Barely had he scored a reasonably impressive TKO win over Kell Brook on Saturday at the MGM Grand Convention Centre’s Bubble in Las Vegas than Terence Crawford turned his attention to the eight-division boxing legend.
Before the fight Crawford (37-0-0) was hoping to prove that he and not Canelo Alvarez was the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world and secure a fight against the unbeaten New York native Errol Spence (26-0-0).
However, it was Pacquiao that Craword said he wants next after his fourth-round victory over Brook.
His promoter Bob Arum, who has his own plans for Crawford, said: “Let me tell you something: Spence and Danny Garcia are fighting in December.
“If they really want to make a big PPV, I’ll put Terence in with them one at a time. He’ll beat them on the same night. He’s far and away the best welterweight in the world.”
While Brook was by no means outclassed, he was perhaps the victim being careless to the point that he even admitted, “I obviously got caught with a shot I didn’t see. ... The better man won the night.”
The showpiece event that had major implications on the lightweight to welterweight division got off to a slow start, but it was Brook who produced the first significant strike when he caught Crawford early in the fight with a solid jab that appeared to hut the American
Crawford shifted to his southpaw stance in the middle of the second round which helped him finding more effective strikes.
Come the fourth round Crawford picked up the pace when a solid right hand found its mark on Brook that rocked him and sent him into the ropes with referee Tony Weeks ruling it as a knock-down.
Brook got back to his feet but a few seconds later, Crawford was all over him landing combinations that had Brook covering up in survival mode as Weeks stepped in to stop the fight.
Crawford picked up a $4 million purse, while Brook earned $2 million for the loss. However, Crawford’s purse was significantly less than the $5.5 million he earned for his sixth-round stoppage of Amir Khan in 2019.
