ANTHONY CROLLA proved fairytales can come true when he slugged his way to
the WBA world lightweight title in front of his home crowd.
Million Dollar Crolla produced a stunning left hook just under Darleys Perez’s
ribs that saw the Colombian crumple to the canvas.
With the partisan Manchester crowd sensing the end of a dramatic night Perez
failed to make referee Terry O’Connor’s count.
Crolla dedicated his victory to James Barrett, who was a fan of his, who lost
his battle with cancer.
He said: “That is in memory of James Barrett. During the build-up to this
fight he lost his battle against cancer.
“My trainer Joe Gallagher has turned my career around. A lot of people had
given up on me.
“I have dreamed this dream since I was ten years of age but this is even
better. I was really confident but I thought it was going to be a head shot
rather than a body shot. It’s amazing.”
The victory for Crolla came after two minutes and 30 seconds of the fifth
round to mark the end of an unbelievable year for the Mancunian.
Crolla’s ‘present’ last Christmas was a fractured skull and a broken ankle,
which came close to ending his career.
He was smacked over the head with a lump of concrete by a burglar who was
trying to rob his next door neighbour’s house last December.
Amazingly Crolla was back in the ring seven months after the attack and almost
the whole of the city’s sporting public turned up at the 20,000 capacity
Manchester Arena to see him fight Perez for the first time last July.
He came up agonisingly short and Perez hung on to his crown when ringside
judges scored the bout as a controversial majority draw.
But Crolla, 29, is so strong mentally that he shook off the crushing
disappointment and almost immediately was back in the gym preparing for the
rematch.
Perez showed his confidence by fighting for the second time in Crolla’s back
yard and he looked calm and composed in the second but nonetheless fought
cautiously behind his impressive jab.
The pace quickened in the third but neither fighter really opened up, Crolla
landed a couple of decnet shots but nothing with enough power to
significantly bother Perez.
Crolla got into his stride in the fourth, peppering Perez’s head with well
timed combinations while his rival from Colombia fired back with single
shots that finished well wide of the target.
The fifth round was sensational with Crolla picking his shots and finally
landing a sledgehammer shot to Perez’s body.
The Colombian crashed to the canvas as if hit with a wrecking ball with
referee O’Connor counting him out.
It was the perfect end to the night with Crolla proving dreams come true.