LAS VEGAS – As competitive as Kell Brook was with Terence Crawford through three rounds Saturday night, Crawford doesn’t consider Brook the best opponent he has fought at welterweight.

Crawford told a small group of reporters after his fourth-round stoppage of Brook on Saturday night that Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Jose Benavidez Jr. both were better than Brook. Crawford beat Kavaliauskas by ninth-round technical knockout in his previous appearance, two bouts after he stopped Benavidez in the 12th round of their October 2018 meeting.

“I can’t rate him the best,” Crawford said of Brook. “No, I can’t. I think, you know, ‘Mean Machine’ [Kavaliauskas] was better than him, my last fight. You know, I think Benavidez was better than him. I think, you know, Amir Khan was around the same. You know, but Jeff Horn, he was more awkward than anything. So, I can’t give him [the distinction of] the best that I ever faced.”

Brook boxed well during the first three rounds versus Crawford, who eventually figured out a way to get past the taller, longer Brook’s jab. Two judges – Dave Moretti (29-28) and Benoit Roussel (29-28) – each had Brook ahead by a point entering the fourth round of their scheduled 12-round, 147-pound title fight at MGM Grand Conference Center.

Crawford caught Brook with a right hook early in the fourth round that staggered the former IBF welterweight champ. Brook stumbled into the ropes and Crawford connected with three more punches before referee Tony Weeks was able to get between them to count because Brook was held up by the ropes.

Once Weeks allowed the action to continue, Crawford unloaded several punishing punches, most notably a straight left that knocked Brook into the ropes again. Weeks then stepped between them again to stop the action at 1:14 of the fourth round.

The 33-year-old Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs), of Omaha, Nebraska, has won each of his five welterweight bouts by technical knockout and eight straight fights overall by TKO or knockout. The 34-year-old Brook (39-3, 27 KOs), of Sheffield, England, lost by knockout for the third time in his 14-year pro career.

Brook considered his size a big advantage against Crawford, but Crawford contends he has dealt well with boxing bigger opponents since he moved up from junior welterweight to welterweight 2½ years ago.

“Listen, when you talk about big dudes, you know, when you look at Jeff Horn, he fought me and went up to 160,” Crawford said. “He was a big dude. When you look at Benavidez, he fought at like 154. He’s a big dude, tall. Amir Khan fought Canelo at [155 pounds]. He’s a big dude. You know, ‘Mean Machine,’ he’s physically a big guy. So, when everybody say I’m fighting all these big dudes, you know, I don’t see any difference because I’ve been fighting these big guys since I came into the division.”

Crawford won the WBO welterweight title from Australia’s Horn, whom he stopped in the ninth round of a one-sided fight in June 2018 at MGM Grand Garden Arena. After defeating Phoenix’s Benavidez in his first title defense at CHI Health Center in Omaha, he beat England’s Khan by sixth-round TKO in April 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.