Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.
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Terence Crawford looks set to defend his welterweight title against Kell Brook before 2020 is out, with Top Rank president Todd duBoef saying the match-up “makes sense.”
Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) had been linked with several top welterweights for his return to the ring.
“We’re having advanced conversations with Brook,” duBoef told Sky Sports. “It makes sense for both fighters. We’re eyeing a November date if it can get done. November 14 is earmarked as the date. The location, as of now, is Las Vegas in a studio-type environment.
“There was talk of going to Omaha, where Crawford is from, in an intimate setting with some fans. We’re weighing it up. First we’ve got to see if we can put the match together. Then the venue.”
Said Eddie Hearn, Brook’s promoter: “I’ve been talking to [Top Rank CEO] Bob Arum about various things [including] Crawford against Brook, which looks close to happening as well.”
Brook held a welterweight belt from August 2014, when he took the title from Shawn Porter in Los Angeles, until May 2017, when he lost it to Errol Spence Jr. in England.
If “Special K” can upset Crawford, who stopped Brook’s domestic rival Amir Khan in six rounds, he’d need to do exactly what he pulled off in a closely-contested battle with Porter.
“Talks are progressing and we feel like we are edging closer,” Brook (39-2, 27 KOs) previously told Sky Sports about facing Crawford. “My team has been in regular dialogue with [promoter] Bob Arum. He assures us that both him and Crawford are bang up for it, so hopefully we can get it over the line and give the fight fans something to get excited about and to close 2020 in style.
“Crawford is the champ so rightfully they want the fight stateside. Vegas has been discussed. It suits me, though. I have always wanted to fight in Las Vegas — the bright lights of ‘Sin City’. I’ve dethroned a welterweight American world champion in his own back yard before. I look forward to doing it again.”
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