Crawford training, getting ready for November return

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

The WBO welterweight titleholder looks like he’s preparing to get in the ring again.

Although nothing has been officially announced yet, it definitely looks like WBO welterweight titleholder Terence “Bud” Crawford is getting ready to fight for the first time in 2020.

Crawford, who last fought in Dec. 2019 in a win over Egidijus Kavaliauskas, will reportedly be facing Kell Brook on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas. And he’s definitely back in the gym and looking like he’s getting ready for just that time frame, as he posted on social media:

The 32-year-old Crawford (36-0, 27 KO) has a dearth of available opponents, with the bulk of the welterweight division’s key players under the Premier Boxing Champions banner. Brook (39-2, 27 KO) is just about the best possible opponent out there at the moment, which might not be saying a lot. The 34-year-old former welterweight titlist hasn’t fought at the weight since a 2017 loss to Errol Spence Jr, having fought his last three bouts at junior middleweight.

The last time Brook even moved toward trying to make 147 pounds, he weighed in at 150 for a Dec. 2018 win over Michael Zerafa. There was no argument about the decision, but Brook looked flat in that fight, and there was some question about his ability to fight at even 150 anymore, let alone 147.

But as it stands, again, he’s about as good a name as Crawford is going to get at the moment; a similar situation led to Crawford facing a past-prime Amir Khan in 2019, which actually came about because Khan decided to take that offer instead of a long-awaited fight with Brook. And at any rate, it’s good we’ll see Crawford lace up the gloves in 2020 instead of sitting out an entire year. The situation isn’t ideal in any way, but fighters gotta fight.