By Matt Bevan
WBA lightweight champion Anthony Crolla has informed BoxingScene.com that his next fight will come in either March or April.
The bout – against a yet-to-be-determined opponent – will serve as the first defence of the title he won in an emotionally-charged knockout win in his rematch with Darleys Perez last November at home in Manchester, England.
Ismael Barroso, who holds an interim version of the title and is Crolla’s mandatory, is under consideration. The 29-year-old is granted a voluntary defense and doesn’t necessarily have to next face the Venezuelan, who stopped Kevin Mitchell in five rounds last December.
Crolla (30-4-3, 12KOs) has been in the gym over the holidays training alongside stable mates Scott Quigg and Stephen Smith, both of whom are both preparing for world title fights with Carl Frampton and Jose Pedraza, respectively, in the first quarter of 2016.
Whenever his fight date is confirmed, “Million Dollar” Crolla insists he will be ready.
“Discussions have started with Eddie Hearn as to when I’m going to be back out and it’s looking like March or April at the moment,” Crolla informed BoxingScene.com in a recent interview. “I’m back in the gym anyway, just ticking over so I’ll be ready for whenever it is. It’s good to stay around the gym, especially with Scott and Stephen preparing for big fights, so when the date is set, I can jump straight back in.
“Barroso is one of the names that’s been mentioned, although it hasn't been ordered by the WBA yet. There is a good chance it will be him to get the mandatory out of the way, but negotiations haven't started. He threw a spanner in the works beating Kevin, which would have been a great British showdown and he looked good in doing it, so it will be a big night when we do meet.”
The title win over Perez topped off a difficult year for Crolla, whose career was thrown in doubt last January when he attempted thwarting a burglary and suffered a bad head injury and a broken ankle.
A scheduled contest with then WBA titlist Richar Abril was postponed, but Crolla returned in July to face Perez, who was upgraded to champion after Abril was stripped.
Hs heroic ring return appeared to have come with a fairytale ending in outboxing Perez over 12 rounds, only to have to settle for a controversial draw. The Mancunian finally got the victory he desperately craved when the two faced off again in November. Crolla described the win as a “huge sense of relief” and that he would more than happily do it all over again.
“It has only just sunk in properly, so it has taken a while, but I finally fulfilled that dream I had as a child,” Crolla recalled of his biggest career win to date. “I’ve wanted to be a world champion ever since I put on a pair of gloves, so the satisfaction was immense and it’s something that will stay with me forever. Relief was definitely the right word for it, especially after the year I had in 2015.
“I love boxing but I was glad to get it over and done with and I’d do it all over again, in particular winning it in the Arena in Manchester. There’s nowhere else I would rather have done it and I pinch myself every time I go there or see it. The Arena has a special place in my heart and always will. I’ve won in Manchester before, but without doubt that one tops the lot.”
Matt Bevan is part of the BoxingScene.com UK news team. Twitter: @MBevs68
