Crawford vs. Brook Gets NSAC Clearance for Las Vegas Venue

Terence Crawford’s bout against Kell Brook appears headed to Sin City.

In a vote conducted during its monthly agenda hearing on Wednesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) unanimously approved a motion to stage the November 14th showdown at an MGM property in Las Vegas.

Crawford-Brook: NSAC Approves Request To Stage Fight in Las Vegas https://t.co/fWdn69Wm8J pic.twitter.com/soQYAtXtev

— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) October 7, 2020

Promoter Top Rank was eyeing to stage the bout in Crawford’s hometown of Omaha but with the prohibition of gatherings there, they considered holding the fight in Las Vegas.

Since the return of boxing in June, Top Rank has held “bubble” events at the MGM Grand. Most notably, the October 17th lightweight title fight between Vasyl Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez will be held at the MGM Grand.

The promoters have made the date official but have not specified which venue it will be taking place in. However, with Wednesday’s NSAC approval and the recent proclamation of Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak allowing a maximum gathering of 250 in the state beginning this month, it appears now that the fight will land in the Silver State.

Undefeated Crawford

The 33-year old Crawford is the 4th ranked pound for pound fighter by The Ring. Bud is a three-division world champion, previously holding world titles at lightweight and junior welterweight. His reign at 140-pounds saw him become the sport’s first four-belt undisputed champion since Jermain Taylor in 2005 and the 8th overall to attain undisputed status in the four-belt era.

.@terencecrawford stays ready 😤 pic.twitter.com/l9a5e0w42W

— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) October 7, 2020

He shot to world fame in 2015 when he sensationally knocked out Yuriorkis Gamboa in 2015. Since then, Bud has picked up wins over former world champions Ray Beltran, Viktor Postol, Julius Indongo, Amir Khan, and Jeff Horn. Crawford is undefeated in 36 bouts with 27 of his wins coming by way of knockout.

Since taking the 147-pound belt from Horn, Crawford has successfully defended his WBO welterweight title three times, winning all three defenses via TKO. In his last bout, Bud stopped the previously unbeaten Egidijus Kavaliauskas in 9 rounds at the fabled Madison Square Garden last December 14, 2019.

No Longer Special?

Brook is a former IBF welterweight champion. The 34-year old from Sheffield in England traveled to California in his first U.S. fight and took the title from Shawn Porter. He defended his belt three straight times before ambitiously moving up two weight classes to challenge Gennady Golovkin for the unified middleweight title.

Kell Brook Drops, Knocks Mark DeLuca Out in Seventh https://t.co/03rq1exhrD pic.twitter.com/LqjypDENMf

— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) February 8, 2020

Golovkin stopped Brook inside five rounds and the latter returned to his weight class for his next bout. Brook would suffer a second straight knockout loss when Errol Spence took the IBF 147-pound title from him. Brook injured his left eye socket in both losses and his career has looked downhill since.

Despite winning his last three bouts, Brook has not looked anywhere near his ring nickname. He’s spent his last three bouts fighting Sergey Rabchenko, Michael Zerafa, and Mark De Luca instead of trying to get back in the title picture.

Massive Favorite

Crawford heads to this bout as the massive betting favorite. SportsBetting.ag currently has the Omaha native as a -898 with Sheffield’s Brook coming back at +618. Pundits consider Brook as past his prime despite the fact that he is only one year older than Crawford. He’s faced low-quality opposition in the last two years and his eye socket injury remains a concern.

On the other hand, Crawford is considered one of the best fighters on the planet today. Bud is known for his exceptionally fast hand speed, high ring IQ, punching power, and ability to counter-punch. His defensive skills and his ability to switch hit comfortable from orthodox to southpaw make him one of the most difficult opponents to read.

This will mark Crawford’s first fight in Las Vegas since his win over Horn in 2018. Meanwhile, Brook will only be fighting on U.S. soil for the third time in his career and this will be his first bout in Sin City.