Terence Crawford stops Kell Brook early in spectacular fashion

Terence Crawford made a strong case for himself as the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer on Saturday at the MGM Grand Conference Center, stopping Kell Brook in the fourth round of their bout for the WBO welterweight title.

Crawford, fighting out of a southpaw stance as he often does, sent Brook sprawling into the ropes in the fourth with a hard right hand jab to the side of the head. Before referee Tony Weeks could get in to call it a knockdown, Crawford landed two more shots.

When the action resumed, Crawford was all over Brook, who was still woozy. He landed a combination and Weeks stopped it at 1:14 of the fourth.

It was a sensational win over arguably the most gifted opponent he’s faced. Brook looked good in the first round and stood in with Crawford, firing big shots.

But Crawford, a notoriously slow starter, picked it up earlier than normal. He started to get off successfully in the second and by the third, when he was fighting southpaw, he was connecting well with Brook.

He was on top of things as the fourth started and was quicker and more accurate than Brook.

If anyone felt that his 33 years would bring a certain amount of slippage, it wasn’t visible on this night. He was strong, fast, accurate and in control.

There are a lot of elite contenders for the No. 1 spot, but Crawford made an excellent case for himself Saturday.

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