| |
|
|
Crawford Derails Brook - "Ain’t Nobody"
By William Trillo
Photos: Mikey Williams - Top Rank
In the main event in the Las Vegas “Bubble” Welterweight
Terence Crawford (37-0, 28 KO’s) and Kell Brook (39-3,
27 KO’s) took the ring in a fight that had the boxing
world brimming. The defacto Pound4Pound best fighter in
the world seemingly had his work cut out for him with
the battle tested Brook. It was a must-see boxing event.
In the first round the fighters were cautious as they
surveyed the landscape. Crawford is a notoriously slow
starter, this allowed Brook to start landing a pretty
consistent jab that kept Crawford, who started the fight
in the orthodox stance, at bay.
The second round began much as the first round left off
with Brook taking the initiative using a good jab and
one-two combos that once again kept Crawford tentative.
Crawford began to close the distance a bit in the latter
portion of the round and was starting to feel more
comfortable in the pocket.
The fight was growing in intensity in round three. You
could see Crawford was really starting to turn up the
heat. Brook was still holding his own, but the tide was
turning, and so was Crawford’s stance. Turning from
Orthodox to Southpaw you could just feel Crawford was
about to take over the fight.
With Crawford growing in confidence in round four the
gap was closing and Brook was finding it harder and
harder to not only land but even throw any effective
punches. Then like a spring-loaded trap Crawford
uncorked a right hand flush on the cheek of Brook. The
power of that blow catapulted Brook into the ropes and
before Crawford could fire off more damage the ref
declared it a knockdown which gave Brook a moment to
collect himself. That wasn’t enough. Being one of the
best closers in the business Crawford swooped in on
Brook landing power shot after power shot. It was over
for Brook as the ref jumped in and halted the fight
before Crawford could do any more damage.
With the victory Crawford retains his WBO World
Welterweight Title and more importantly he solidifies
his spot as the best Pound4Pound fighter in the world.
Captured effortlessly,
That's the way it was...
...And now we're flyin' through the stars
I hope this night will last forever. - Rufus
Reflecting on his loss Brook shared, “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.”
On his victory Crawford said, “I was trying to gauge the
distance. He had good distance. I was trying to find my
rhythm in between getting my distance together. That’s
why it was so competitive at first. I couldn’t get my
shots off. 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.He lost to the better man.”
“I already said who I want {next}. I want Pacquiao. I
want to revisit that fight. 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.”
Bob Arum announced, “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.”
The fight between Super Flyweights Joshua Franco
(17-1-2, 8 KO’s) and Andrew Moloney (21-1, 14 KO’s)
turned into a nightmare in a matter of two rounds. In a
rematch of their battle earlier this year, a fight
Franco won, Andrew Moloney was on fire. Before the end
of the first round Francos eye was swelling in an angry
fashion. Ref Russell Mora said a clash of heads caused
the swelling, but it was clear the heads never clashed.
The swelling to Franco’s eye was the cause and effect of
numerous pinpoint jabs.
After the second round was over the doctor stepped in
and stopped the fight because Franco could no longer
see. Thanks to an inept call by Mora followed by the
Nevada Commission not having the gonads to overturn the
miscue, even after reviewing very conclusive video
footage for almost half an hour, the bout was declared a
no contest after two rounds.
Moloney got screwed, everyone watching knows it. A
rematch should take place but something tells me Franco
vs. Moloney 3 will never see the light of day. Oh yeah,
the WBA World Super Flyweight Title was on the line.
On a personal note it was disappointing to see Team
Franco talking trash to Moloney as they scurried into
the dressing room with a belt they do not deserve to
keep. It was a classless act from a team that knows full
well what transpired in the ring.
After the fight Andrew Moloney stated, “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.”
Promoter Bob Arum said, “This is an absolute disgrace.
There was no headbutt. Andrew Moloney should be the new
champion.”
Bantamweight Joshua Greer Jr (22-2-2, 12 KO’s) was
looking to get back in the win column in this fight
against Edwin Rodriguez (11-5-2, 5 KO’s). After losing
his last fight Greer changed corners, took on Shakur
Stevenson as a coach and threw away that ridiculous
pillow. The outcome? A kiss your sister majority draw.
Final scores tallied 77-75 for Rodriguez and 76-76
twice. With the draw Rodriguez sends Greer back to the
drawing board.
Middleweights Tyler Howard (19-0, 11 KO’s) and KeAndrae
Leatherwood (22-8-1, 13 KO’s) squared off in a rather
awkward looking eight round affair. While Howard was
trying to fight his way through a nasty cut over his
left eye his opponent Leatherwood was busy holding and
going to the canvas on his own volition. Finally, a
punch helped send Leatherwood to the canvas. That sealed
the deal for Howard who took a unanimous decision on all
cards, 77-74, 76-74 and 77-73.
Lightweight Raymond Muratalla (11-0, 9 KO’s) took an
early look at Luis Porozo (15-5, 8 KO’s) and after he
processed the intel he unleashed fury in round three.
Porozo went down twice from body shots and then Muatalla
closed the show with a straight right hand that put an
end to the show. This one came to a halt at the 2:40
mark of round three.
It was a solid performance by Featherweight Duke Ragan
(3-0, 1 KO) who took an easy unanimous decision over
Sebastian Gutierrez (1-1, 1 KO). Final scores on the
four round scrap read 40-35 across the board.
After two hard fought rounds Bantamweight Vegas Larfield
(2-0, 2 KO) dispatched Juan Alberto Flores (2-1-1) after
dropping him three times in round three. Officially the
end came at the 1:07 mark of the third.
|
|
|
