KELL BROOK makes his huge return to the ring TONIGHT against pound-for-pound kingpin Terence Crawford.
Unbeaten superstar Crawford, 33, puts his WBO welterweight title on the line in the blockbuster bout over in Las Vegas, and unlike the majority of Brook's previous fights, this time it WON'T be broadcast on Sky Sports.
- Start time: Crawford vs Brook main event set for around 4am GMT
- TV/live stream: Premier Sports
- The Bubble at the iconic MGM Grand in Las Vegas plays host
Follow ALL of the latest updates below…
- James Orr
ALL IN
Kell Brook believes running away from the bright lights and late nights of Sheffield will help crown him king of Sin City.
The Brit, 34, can become a two-time welterweight world champion by beating WBO boss and pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford.
Ex-IBF champ Brook admits that, like working-class Manchester legend Ricky Hatton, he has enjoyed his hero status at home a bit too much in between fights.
But the father of three has dedicated himself like never before for his Las Vegas shot at three-weight champion Crawford in the early hours of Sunday morning.
And Brook vowed there will be no hangovers after his showdown.
He said: “People have been writing me off and saying that this is an easy fight for Terence.
“But I have taken myself away from my missus, my daughters, all of my family, to get ready for this and push myself in training camp.
“I have no excuses. At home in Sheffield there are plenty of distractions and sometimes I only start tightening up things too close to a fight.”
- James Orr
EXCLUSIVE
Kell Brook can steal a fight against Manny Pacquiao in Qatar away from Terence Crawford if he pulls off an upset, revealed Bob Arum.
Legendary promoter Arum told SunSport: “We tried to match Terence with Manny Pacquiao, that fight was going to be held in Qatar in November.
“But then the minister of health there said we couldn't get a gate because of Covid and it was too dangerous, so that fight disappeared.
“We were then in touch with Brook's people, and I was reluctant to some extent to make the match because Brook is a really big welterweight and Terence is a small welterweight.
“He came up from lightweight, then light-welterweight and Terence will give away a big, big, size advantage and Brook is a very accomplished fighter.
“I think this is a really competitive fight and if Terence doesn't watch out, Brook is going to roll right over him, as Brook is very confident going into this.
“And if he's successful with Terence, maybe I'll make Brook with Manny.”
- James Orr
KELL YES
Kell Brook has gone from tubby to trim ahead of his biggest fight in years.
In 2019, the Sheffield star ballooned to 15 stone as a number of major contests fell through.
He weighed in in impressive shape on Friday ahead of what he has called the “biggest fight of his career”.
- James Orr
KELL OF A DIG
Terence Crawford mocked Kell Brook's double broken sockets as he told his rival: 'Both your eyes are messed up'.
Crawford defends his WBO welterweight title against the former champion tonight.
And after they both weighed in, the fighters sat down for an interview with ESPN in separate rooms.
As Crawford was asked if Brook could be his toughest fight, the Brit was adamant he would be.
He said: “You can see in my eyes that this is gonna be your toughest fight.”
But Crawford, 33, responded: “Your eyes? Both of your eyes are messed up, how am I gonna see it in your eyes?”
Brook, 34, suffered broken eye sockets in two consecutive fights as he challenged Gennady Golovkin and then Errol Spence Jr.
- James Orr
FULL CARD FOR TONIGHT
The big rematch between WBA super flyweight world champion Joshua Franco and former world champion Andrew Moloney heads up the undercard.
- Terence Crawford vs Kell Brook (WBO welterweight title)
- Joshua Franco vs Andrew Moloney (WBA super-flyweight title)
- Tyler Howard v KeAndrae Leatherwood
- Joshua Greer Jr v Edwin Rodriguez
- Raymond Muratalla v Luis Porozo
- Duke Ragan v Sebastian Gutierrez
- Vegas Larfield v Juan Alberto Flores
TALE OF THE TAPE
How the fighters compare ahead of tonight's huge main event..
WHY ISN'T BROOK FIGHTING ON SKY TONIGHT?
Brook boxed on Sky for most of his career, and even though he has now signed for Arum, he recently revealed his disappointment Hearn failed to get a deal done for it to be shown on Sky.
The 34-year-old had said: “I've always been a Sky Sports fighter, been in with Shawn Porter, Errol Spence, Golovkin. I've made some amazing nights with Sky Sports.
“The fans, I wanna give back to people that subscribe to Sky Sports, I want my fans to see me fight the pound-for-pound king in Crawford.
“But it's not come off the way I wanted it to come off so I'm absolutely gutted.”
He also claimed he got Hearn ‘out of jail’ by fighting Triple G in 2016 as the promoter was ‘more interested’ in signing copies of his soon-to-be released book.
However, Hearn has come out swinging in an interview with iFL TV, saying: “I was really disappointed to be honest with you, and I was quite angry.
“I will say this because I do feel like 99 per cent of what was said was total b****cks. I do feel like I should give you the truth.
“Let's just start with the Crawford fight and Sky situation – When Amir Khan boxed Terence Crawford, Kell Brook flew out there and he was talking to Top Rank.
“He had meetings with Top Rank probably about that fight and probably about other fights as well which didn't go down very well with me to be honest with you. I'm an all or nothing kind of guy.
“I was never involved with one conversation they had with Top Rank regarding this fight, no consultation, no opinion from me, no part of the negotiations of the deal whatsoever.
“They chose to do this to all them. Was that because they didn't wanna pay me? Or they wanted to go their separate way?
“Once you turn your back on me, don't ever turn round and start walking back to me. You're either with me or you're not.”
WELCOME ABOARD
Kell Brook returns to the ring tonight when he takes on pound-for-pound superstar Terence Crawford at the iconic MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Sheffield's former world champ Brook, 34, was last in action in February, and says he is ready for the “biggest fight of his career”.
Brook said: “I know people are writing me off, saying I'm 34 and haven't made welterweight for years.
“I feel this is the moment where I become great in this fight.
“If you had seen me in the last four or five months I have been obsessed.
“I've sacrificed, taken myself away from my girls and been training so hard because I know that if I walk away from the sport I want to know I have done everything I can. This is the biggest fight of my career.”
Crawford, however, says he will be the third man to stop Brook, following Gennadiy Golovkin in 2016 and Errol Spence in 2017.
Crawford said: “He gonna have to – you know what I mean – live up to his words.
“You know, I’m not the one that ever quit in a fight. You know, I can’t say the same for him, though.”
Follow ALL of the action right here for a huge night of boxing over in the States…
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