Terence Crawford may have solidified himself as the best fighter in the world as he stopped Kell Brook in round four to retain his WBO Welterweight title at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.
Brook started off very well as he was very adept with his jab and started landing solid rights. Brook at the very least took two if not all three of the opening rounds.
That was short lived, as in round four, Crawford hurt Brook badly with a short right hook that staggered him to the ropes that was ruled a knockdown by referee Tony Weeks. Crawford, who may be the best finisher in the sport, saw blood and pounced on Brook and landed a vicious combination that forced the stoppage at 1:14.
Crawford, 146.4 lbs of Omaha, Nebraska, is 37-0 with 28 knockouts. Brook, 147 lbs of Sheffield, England is 39-3.
“I already said who I want {next}. I want Pacquiao. I want to revisit that fight,” Crawford said. “That was a fight that should’ve happened right now. But being that the pandemic happened, and they weren’t going to allow fans in the Middle East, they had to put a hold to that. Everything was 95 percent done. We had the venue. The money was almost there. It wasn’t quite there. That was the only thing we were waiting on.
“Kell is a tremendous talent. He came and he tried to take my title. He was in shape. He made the weight. There were no excuses to be put on the table. He came off of three wins.”
Added Brook, “Never in my career, nobody has ever done that to me in sparring or anything.
“It was one of them… I got caught with a shot I didn’t see. I’m gutted because nobody could’ve gotten me in better condition. I was bang on the limit. Maybe I could’ve been a bit more relaxed and loose and let the shots go.”
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said, “Terence Crawford showed, once again, why he is the best welterweight in the world. It was a dominating performance over a very good fighter in Kell Brook. Terence ranks up there with all the great welterweights I’ve promoted.”
Moloney and Franco Fight to No-Decision after Franco injures eye
In a rematch for the WBA Super Flyweight title, Andrew Moloney and reigning champion battled to a no-contest as an injury to the eye of Franco forced the fight to be stopped before the 3rd round.
In round one, Franco had swelling over his right eye from an accidental headbutt. The doctor looked at the rapidly swelling eye before round’s two and three, and Franco was deemed unfit to continue. Replays showed that the swelling was caused by a jab in the 1st round by Moloney..
The commission looked at the replay for over 25 minutes and settled on a no-contest.
Moloney said, “They took this away from me. The injury was caused by a punch. I can’t believe this.
“I was in control of the fight and on my way to a clear victory. I deserved this win. I landed 50 punches on that eye. It was not even close.”
Added Arum, “This is an absolute disgrace. There was no headbutt. Andrew Moloney should be the new champion.”
Joshua Greer Jr. and Edwin Rodriguez battled to a majority draw in a eight-round bantamweight fight.
In round two, Greer began to bleed from his nose.
Rodriguez took a card 77-75 and two cards read even at 76-76.
Rodriguez landed 124 of 470 punches; Greer was 131 of 526.
Greer, 118.9 lbs of Chicago, IL is 22-2-2. Rodriguez, 118.9 lbs of Ponce, PR is 11-5-2.
Tyler Howard remained undefeated by winning an eight-round unanimous decision over KeAndrae Leatherwood.
In round two, Howard was cut over the left eye.
In round six, Leatherwood was deducted a point for holding. In round eight, Howard dropped Leatherwood with a body shot.
Howard landed 81 of 329 punches; Leatherwood was 74 of 244.
Howard, 161.2 lbs of Crossville, TN won by scores of 77-74, 76-74 and 77-73 and is now 19-0. Leatherwood, 161.9 lbs of Tuscaloosa, AL is 22-8-1.
Duke Ragan stayed undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Sebastian Gutierrez in a featherweight fight.
In round two, Ragan sent Gutierrez to the canvas with a nicely-timed right hand.
Ragan, 126 lbs of Cincinnati, OH won by scores of 40-35 on all cards and is now 3-0. Gutierrez, 126.3 lbs of Oxnard, CA is 1-1.
Vegas Larfield stopped Jose Alberto Flores in a scheduled four round bantamweight bout featuring undefeated fighters.
It was a back and forth brawl for the opening two rounds. In round three, Larfield dropped Flores with a hard left hook. It was another right that sent Flores down for a 2nd time. Larfield finished off Flores with a big eight-punch combination and the fight was stopped at 1:07.
Larfield, 119 lbs of Brisbane, AUS is now 2-0 with two knockouts. Flores, 117.3 lbs of Monterrey, MEX is 2-1-1.
Raymond Muratalla stopped Luis Porozo in round three of their scheduled six-round lightweight bout.
In round three, Muratalla sent Porozo down from a body shot. Muratalla ended it moments later when he landed a crushing right that sent Porozo down in the corner and he fight was stopped at 2:40.
Muratalla, 137.3 lbs of Fontana, CA is 11-0 with nine knockouts. Porozo, 135.2 lbs of Santo Domingo, ECU is 15-5.
