Crawford-Brook OFF after intense staredown shatters Brook's orbital bone

Terence Crawford's WBO welterweight title defence against Britain's Kell Brook has been cancelled after an unfortunate incident at a pre-fight press conference.

Earlier today, pound-for-pound contender Crawford and former IBF welterweight champion Brook were squaring off at the final press conference before their hotly anticipated bout this Saturday.

Crawford, formerly the undisputed light welterweight champion before he moved up in weight, was set to make his fourth defence of his WBO welterweight title against the Brit. Brook held the IBF welterweight title from 2014 to 2017, but his career took a downturn after an overly ambitious move to middleweight to challenge a prime Gennady Golovkin and a subsequent loss to Errol Spence Jr, both fights ending with the Sheffield fighter suffering a broken orbital bone, under his right eye vs Golovkin and under his left eye vs Spence.

And despite twice undergoing surgery to fix his brittle skull, the problem came back to haunt him in a big way during the final face-off before the fighters weigh in this Friday. The pair held each other's gaze for two straight minutes, refusing to blink in case somebody accused them of being a scared little b***h. For Crawford, it was business as usual, but Brook was clearly in some discomfort as soon as they were pulled apart.

'Special K' was taken to a nearby hospital in Las Vegas, where doctors confirmed he had shattered his left orbital bone once again due to the strenuous nature of the stare-down, and the fight was called off. Brook will undergo surgery for the third time and the fight will be postponed until a later date, providing the Brit's eyes hold up.

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