Anthony Crolla refused to back down from a ferocious puncher

EXCLUSIVE: When Anthony Crolla was advised to avoid one of the most thunderous punchers in world boxing, the Mancunian outright refused — ducking is simply not in his nature.

Defining the old adage, ‘Anytime, anyplace, anywhere’, rather than fighting off the back foot, the warrior marched straight into the eye of the storm, producing one of the greatest performances in British history.

Anthony Crolla overcame all the odds to beat Ismael Barroso

On May 7, 2016, Anthony Crolla went head-to-head with Ismael Barroso in a titanic collision at the Manchester Arena.

The Venezuelan had proven himself as a truly terrifying operator, capable of rendering any opponent he touched unconscious with just a single shot.

Thus, prior to the contracts being signed, many told the Englishman that he ought to avoid the challenge, and head in a different direction. But that wasn’t what Crolla was all about.

Without any fear, he jumped at the chance to share the ring with the power puncher, knowing he had it in him to upset the applecart.

As the fight drew closer, so did Barroso’s fearsome aura, with the South American terrifying fans, with his dynamite shots at the open workout. I even personally felt the brawler’s wrath, when he gave me a fist bump, with a hand so hard, upon connection, it almost crushed my fingers.

Of course, during an exclusive interview with Sporf via Free Bets, I had to tell Crolla about this anecdote, to which he chuckled: “A few people have said that, he hit that hard. He’s had some big wins. He should’ve been a world champion; I know he was interim, but he was very hard done by in one of those fights.

“I believe that was probably my finest hour, because I was going in there as the defending champion in my hometown, and I was the underdog with the bookmakers. I think a lot of that had to do with how he’d beaten a very good fighter in Kevin Mitchell. He destroyed Kev that night.

“I was sat ringside, and I remember a pal of mine messaging me going, ‘Swerve him’. It got my back up a little bit, to be honest. At the workout, while he was doing the pads, I know pads don’t hit back, but people were saying, ‘You can’t let him land on you’.”

When the big night finally came, Crolla rode out an early storm, before coming on strong, drowning his opponent under a wave of pressure to claim a beautiful body shot knockout in the seventh round.

The former WBA world lightweight champion, added: “Thankfully, in the fight, I took very little punishment. I knew early on, feeling the power through the gloves, and thinking, ‘If I get hit too often here, there’s a great chance I could be on my back’. So, I was switched on. It was one of my best nights.”

Anthony Crolla triumphed over Ricky Burns in an epic England vs Scotland clash

The atmosphere against Barroso was undeniably exceptional, with the icon’s supporters turning the venue into a cacophony of noise.

However, when he clashed with Ricky Burns, the pair’s respective Manchester and Glasgow fan bases, came together in unison to create something truly special.

The 38-year-old reminisced: “It was brilliant. There was a tremendous atmosphere that night. Ricky is a great guy; he’s a pal of mine. I think the crowd played a big part that night. I was always very relaxed, but I was nervous that night. It was one of the first boxing shows back at the arena since the tragic night with the Manchester bombing, so, I felt like there was a lot riding on me that night. It was a good win for me, beating a three-weight world champion.”

Featured Image Credit: Anthony Crolla