Anthony Crolla

Anthony Crolla, born on November 16, 1986, in Manchester, England, embarked on his professional boxing career in 2006. Making his debut on October 14, 2006, at the MEN Arena in Manchester, Crolla secured a points victory over Abdul Rashid. His early career saw him compile an unbeaten record of 6-0 during his first full year as a professional, including fights in late 2006 and throughout 2007. He continued his winning streak into early 2008, with victories in Germany and at Old Trafford Stadium. However, his undefeated professional record was broken on April 5, 2008, when he lost to Syrian Youssef Al Hamidi on points. Crolla quickly rebounded, gaining a revenge win over Al Hamidi later that year and ending 2008 with a 12-1 record, marked by further victories against Carl Allen and Jon Baguley.

Crolla’s career progression included contesting significant titles. In 2009, he faced a British title eliminator, resulting in his second career defeat against Gary Sykes. He later captured his first career title, the English super-featherweight title, in October 2010 with a 7th-round stoppage against Andy Morris. Stepping up a weight division, Crolla challenged John Watson for the vacant British lightweight title on February 12, 2011, securing it with a 9th-round knockout. He successfully defended this title against Willie Limond before losing it to Derry Mathews in April 2012. A notable point in his career came in 2013 when he won the vacant WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title by defeating former WBA light-welterweight champion Gavin Rees. Crolla successfully defended this title twice against Stephen Foster and John Murray, with a technical draw against Gamaliel Díaz in his third defense. His ascent continued with an opportunity for the WBA lightweight title against Richar Abril in 2015, which was cancelled due to a significant personal injury sustained during a burglary.

Undeterred, Crolla received another shot at the WBA lightweight title against Darleys Pérez on July 18, 2015. The initial fight controversially ended in a split decision draw. In the highly anticipated rematch on November 21, 2015, Crolla achieved his dream, knocking out Pérez in the 5th round to become the WBA lightweight champion. He successfully defended his title against mandatory challenger Ismael Barroso in May 2016, delivering a 7th-round knockout. He subsequently lost the WBA lightweight title in a unification bout against Jorge Linares in September 2016, followed by a unanimous decision loss in their rematch in March 2017. Crolla continued to fight notable opponents, including a victory over Ricky Burns in October 2017 and a win against Daud Yordan in November 2018, which earned him a title shot against Vasiliy Lomachenko. His final fight was a majority decision win against Frank Urquiaga in November 2019 at the Manchester Arena, marking his retirement from professional boxing.