By: Hans Themistode
While Kell Brook doesn’t believe he needs any more motivation for his title clash against Terence Crawford in the next few weeks, he found some in an expected place.
Just last weekend the 34 year old former welterweight belt holder sat back in his home and watched a young Teofimo Lopez pull off the massive upset when he dethroned who many believed was the best boxer in the world in Vasiliy Lomachenko. The win by Lopez has only reinforced what Brook believes will happen on November 14th.
“I’m an elite fighter,” said Brook to IFL TV during a recently aired interview. “Look at what Lopez did, everyone wrote him off and he upset the odds and beat the pound for pound number one in Loma so I’m going to do the same.”
At the moment, oddsmakers have Brook as high as a 10-1 underdog. But walking into a contest with the betting world against him is something that he has grown accustomed to over the course of his career. He hasn’t always proven them wrong, but Brook took the time to reminisce about a time in which he did.
“Everyone wrote me off against Shawn Porter and I went out there and became world champion. I know that people are writing me off but I know what I can do and I am going in there one thousand percent confident.”
Brooks win over Porter in 2014, resulted in a title reign that lasted just over three years. He would see it come to a screeching halt however, at the halfway mark in 2017 when Errol Spence Jr. floored the British native twice on his way to a stoppage win in the 11th round. Since then, Brook has gone on to win three straight contests, albeit none has come at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. For his upcoming matchup against Crawford, Brook has agreed to move back down in weight for the first in three years.
Although he has stated on numerous occasions that making 147 pounds is a struggle for him, the British product’s confidence is seemingly through the roof. With that being said, he knows Crawford is the total package.
“He’s got everything,” explained Brook. “He’s a switch hitter and has good power so he has everything but I believe in me. Anything can happen when you have that self belief. I’m self motivated.”
Under normal circumstances, Brook would love to trade punches with Crawford inside of a packed arena. However, due to safety protocols from COVID-19, a raucous crowd won’t be in attendance at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Still, with Lomachenko vs Lopez reaching nearly three million homes worldwide, Brook finds solace in the possibility that millions of fans will tune in to witness him creating history.
“I want the world to see this. I want the world to see me become two time world champion. I’m going in there to dethrone this man. A lot of people have me as the underdog but this big dog is going to make a lot of people money. I’m taking that title back home to Britain.”