Getty Vasyl Lomachenko and Anthony Crolla ahead of their world lightweight championship fight.
Heading into his upcoming fight with Vasyl Lomachenko, Anthony Crolla is a massive 16/1 underdog. However, the crafty lightweight might just have a better chance than most people think. While he may be biased, Crolla’s promoter at Matchroom Sport, Eddie Hearn, feels that Crolla is entering this fight as an extremely dangerous man. Hearn would go on to say, “He has zero pressure and he’s an excellent fighter.”
While many were questioning why Crolla would take such a dangerous fight, Hearn confidently stated that many people were forgetting that his fighter was a former lightweight champion. Having already reached the pinnacle of the sport, Hearn said that Crolla simply “wants to fight the best” at this stage in his career.
In Lomachenko, Crolla is certainly fighting the best. Considered by many to be boxing’s top pound-for-pound fighter, Lomachenko had a stellar 396-1 Amateur record alongside his current 12-1 mark at the professional level.
What is Anthony Crolla’s Record?
Sitting at 34-6-3 on his career, Crolla is an extremely experienced professional fighter. While not necessarily a household name, Crolla is a former lightweight champion and has beaten a number of the sports top contenders since breaking onto the scene in 2006.
Interestingly Crolla has only fought once before in the United States and only has had two total fights outside of England. However, Crolla was able to win both fights on foreign soil and showed how he could handle fighting away from his backyard.
That said, Crolla has never faced a fighter as talented as Lomachenko – on English soil or abroad. While he has taken Jorge Linares to the limit and beaten big names like Darleys Perez and Ismael Barroso, Crolla will need all of his experience and maturity to stick to his fight plan against one of the most dangerous fighters on the planet.
How Long Was Anthony Crolla the WBA Lightweight Champion?
Anthony Crolla held the WBA lightweight belt from November 2015 until September 2016. Crolla initially took the belt from Darleys Perez after their first fight ended in a draw. However, he would only successfully defend the title a single time, against Ismael Barroso, before losing his belt in a unification bout with Jorge Linares.
Crolla would keep things close to the point where promoters decided to run back the affair with an immediate rematch, however, he wasn’t able to muster up the same performance the second time around. Ever the comeback artist, Crolla once again finds himself back in a position to challenge for a world title once more.
Crolla was actually in line once before for a shot at the WBA lightweight belt in January of 2015. However, he suffered a fractured skull and ankle fending off robbers from his home and was forced out of the bout. Many felt he would never get back to the same caliber of fighter he once was but just 11 months later he captured the WBA belt from Perez. Now coming off consecutive defeats at the hands of Linares, Crolla has strung together some quality and improbable wins to once again thrust himself back into the title picture.
Lomachenko vs. Crolla airs Friday, April 12, on ESPN+. You can watch it for free by starting a free 7-day trial here.