Kell Brook believes size will be one of his biggest advantages against Terence Crawford.
Their 12-round, 147-pound championship match will mark the first time in six welterweight world title fights that Brook won’t have to adhere to a rehydration restriction the day after he weighs in November 13. Each of his first five welterweight championship bouts were contested for the IBF 147-pound crown, which prevented Brook from adding more than 10 pounds above the welterweight limit for second-day weigh-ins conducted the mornings of those fights.
There is not a rehydration clause in the contracts for his shot at the heavily favored Crawford’s WBO welterweight title November 14 in Las Vegas. Without a second-day weight restriction, the slightly taller Brook thinks he’ll feel fresher the night he challenges Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) and clearly will be the bigger man in the ring.
“He’s come [up] from lightweight,” Brook told BoxingScene.com. “I’m a natural welterweight. I’ve fought Golovkin at middleweight. I’ve boxed at light middleweight. I’m a big, strong welterweight, and I’ve had plenty of preparation to make sure that I’m coming in this fight healthy at welterweight.
“And there’s no 10-pound rehydration clause, like before with the IBF. So, basically, I weigh in and then I become a beast. I’m not saying that I’m gonna go up 30 pounds or whatever. But it’s just gonna be something in my mind I don’t need to worry about. I just need to worry about Terence. I need to worry about this fight.”
The 34-year-old Brook (39-2, 27 KOs) contends that those second-day weigh-ins hurt his performances, particularly when he struggled so much to make weight for his title defense against Errol Spence Jr. in May 2017. Brook’s bout with Spence was competitive before Spence knocked Brook to the canvas in the 10th round and again in the 11th round, when Spence knocked out the former champion at Bramall Lane, an outdoor soccer stadium in Sheffield, England, Brook’s hometown.
“The things I’ve had to go through in previous fights,” Brook said, “you know, getting ill and not being great with the weight and not being as fit as I should be, and I still go out and beat these guys, and [fought] the Golovkins and Errol Spences of the world. So, imagine what happens what I’m like now mentally. This is a mental game, as well as physically being fit and everything. This is the best position I’ve ever been in for a fight weight-wise, fitness-wise, and I’m just drawing confidence from that.”
The Crawford-Brook bout will headline ESPN’s telecast a week from Saturday night at MGM Grand Conference Center. Premier Sports, a premium cable channel, will broadcast Crawford-Brook in the United Kingdom.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.