Boxing News: Terence Crawford To Face Kell Brook In November

After serious talks and negotiations, the fight between Terence Crawford and Kell Brook is finally on, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum confirmed Wednesday.

ESPN reported, citing an unnamed source, that the welterweight bout is now set for Nov. 14, with the venue still to be determined. Locations in Las Vegas and Crawford's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, are being considered as possible venues, the report said.

The headliner will be the first bout for both Crawford and Brook since the start of the pandemic. The undefeated American has not fought since beating Egidijus Kavaliauskas via technical knockout in December 2019, while Brook last entered the ring in February when he pulled off a seventh-round KO victory over Mark DeLuca.

The upcoming card, however, will not be available on pay-per-view as organizers had to adjust amid the continuing economic challenge caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"These networks have to understand how people are hurting, how many people in this country and in the U.K. are out of work because of this pandemic," Arum said as he revealed that the event will be on a linear ESPN platform.

"I think it's really immoral to require people to spend [more] money watching their favorite sport every week, every other week," he added.

Arum said they are exploring the possibility of allowing fans inside the fight venue but only in a limited capacity. He added that the bout between Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez on Oct. 17 inside the "bubble" at the MGM Grand Convention Center will serve as Top Rank’s test trial to assess whether staging bouts with fans inside is indeed feasible.

"We hope this will lead to events where we can have paying spectators (at a) safe distance and (on) a limited basis," Arum said.

The negotiations for the Crawford-Brook fight began late in August as Top Rank failed to seal a deal with WBA super welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao in an event that was set to be held in the Middle East.

Crawford holds a flawless 36-0, 27 KOs record and will put his WBO welterweight title on the line against Brook, who is looking to notch his 40th professional win in his 42nd fight.