By Elliot Foster

Terry Flanagan has insisted that the fans will be the ones to lose out if a fight between him and his lightweight rival Anthony Crolla doesn’t materialise.

The WBO world champion (30-0, 12 KOs) was ringside last weekend as he watched his fellow Manchurian dismantle dangerous Venezuelan mandatory challenger Ismael Barroso.

And Flanagan, whose last fight was a defence of his crown at Liverpool’s ECHO Arena against Derry Mathews in March, hopes that he and the aforementioned WBA champ Crolla can one day grace their Manchester Arena home in a highly-anticipated unification showdown.

“I was there on Saturday and Crolla did well,” Flanagan, who told Boxing Scene that he could feature on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s world heavyweight title rematch against Wladimir Klitschko on July 9 in a defence of his title if the all-Manchester confrontation isn’t made, said. “He did what he had to do and now the question is on everyone’s lips about when we’re going to fight.

“After the fight, I rang [my promoter] Frank [Warren] the next day and told him that he had to make this fight.

“He’s doing everything he can to put this fight on, but I think Crolla’s team are trying to con the public.”

Crolla’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said after the fight that the fight with Ancoats’ Flanagan was high on the list of priorities for the New Moston man, but a fight with Jorge Linares, the WBC’s champion in recess at the weight, has also been mooted.

“I don’t think they fancy it,” Flanagan continued. “If the fight doesn’t happen, and I’m pushing for it to happen because I want to fight the best and prove that I’m the number one in the division, it’ll be for one of two reasons.

“I don’t think it’s anything to do with Crolla, why the fight won’t happen, but I think the two reasons are that his team –– and mainly his trainer Joe Gallagher –– doesn’t believe that he can beat me or that they want more money.”

Promoter Frank Warren, after watching Crolla beat Barroso on May 7, released a statement outlining the terms that must be in place for the fight to take place.

Warren even went as far as to say that the fight to take place on Sky Sports –– with whom Hearn has an exclusive contract –– rather than his own subscription-based channel BoxNation.

“It’s all bullshit. The fans will be the ones who will be affected when it doesn’t happen and it’ll come back on us, like one of us has avoided the other. That’ll never be the case and we both want the fight, but I reckon it has to happen in the next six months if it’s going to happen at all.”

Flanagan and Crolla were schoolmates at St Matthew’s in Moston, are friends outside of the ring and support rival city football teams. They are also televised on rival broadcasters and have rival promoters.

So it’s schoolmate vs. schoolmate, Flanagan vs. Crolla, Manchester City vs. Manchester United, BoxNation vs. Sky Sports and Frank Warren vs. Eddie Hearn.

What more do you need? The fight is a promotional dream. There is one problem: the promoters disagree.

“Listen, I like Crolla. He’s a nice lad, he talks well, he’s a world champion and more to the point he can fight, but I just want the fight to happen before one of us moves up [in weight] and/or one of us is beaten and the chance of the fight has gone.

“I went to the [Manchester] City game against Arsenal and had hundreds of people coming up and asking me when we were going to fight.

“‘When are you going to smash that Red c**t Crolla,’ is how it was put by many –– and my reply was simple: ‘I’m happy to have it if he wants it too.’

“Crolla’s a fighting man, just like me, and he will fight anyone. It sells the Manchester Arena out on its own and simply has to happen. It can’t not happen, it would be criminal.

“Why can’t Eddie Hearn, the shithouse, and Joe Gallagher –– who doesn’t think Crolla can beat me –– stop trying to con the public into thinking that there is a bigger fight out there than the one between the two of us?

“There isn’t. Me vs. Crolla is the biggest money earner and is the fight to prove who is the best lightweight in the world.

“They say he is, I know I am, but we’ve got to prove it, so let’s cut the bullshit, give the fans what they want and get the fight made.”

Elliot Foster is the primary reporter for the BoxingScene.com. UK news team. Twitter: @FreelanceFoz