By Terence Dooley

Anthony Crolla cut a forlorn figure back in May 2009, the young pro had dropped a tight points decision to Gary Sykes in a closely fought British title eliminator down at super-featherweight.  I contacted Crolla a few days after the fight to dissect the second reverse on his record.

Crolla's responses amounted to, “Yes, I will come back from this.  Yes, I will get to that British title,” and he signed off by insisting that two defeats on your record is not the end of the line.  Anthony, however, was 13-2 at the time, his promotional future looked uncertain and, despite his undoubted ability, it was hard to share his optimism given the unforgiving nature of the sport.

Now, though, the tide has turned for 'Million Dollar' after a sensational ninth round knockout win over John Watson for the vacant British lightweight belt.  Crolla came to Watson's home turf for the Mathroom-promoted tussle yet had enough fans at Liverpool's Olympia to drown out the catcalls and boos from Watson's loyal support.

Crolla (134½lbs) boxed patiently during the early going, capitalising on Watson's hesitant start by stabbing home lefts and rights.  Watson (135lbs) had started slowly in his last bout, that epic defeat to Gavin Rees for the same belt in November of last year, he also struggled for fluidity early on Saturday night.

John stopped the rot early in the third, putting shots together at the start of the round and maintaining in the face of his co-challenger's gritty approach.  The 27-year-old Liverpudlian consolidated with a solid left hook to the head early in round four only to lose cohesion over the course of the next two cantos.

A solid right uppercut in round six sent a tremor through John's tight 5' 10'' frame.  Crolla sensed victory, stepping on the gas for thirty seconds before pacing himself for the rest of the round.  Watson seemed a done deal when the bell rang to end the session, to his credit, the 27-year-old dug deep, planting his feet and letting go with sporadic bursts of shots.

Crolla kept chipping away, staying calm in the face of a fierce “final stand” onslaught from Watson in round eight before closing the show with a southpaw right hook at 2:35 of round nine.  John went down heavily but, thankfully, was soon back on his feet and has since assured his Facebook followers that he will regroup and return, hopefully at a higher poundage. 

Sure, John has made weight for his title fights yet there is something missing from his work at the moment, when he lets his hands go he looks a very good fighter, you cannot overlook the fact that he gave Gavin Rees hell in the middle stages of their fight.  A step up in weight will allow John to keep his physical advantages whilst giving him the chance to work hard on ensuring that his engine keeps ticking along throughout the course of a torrid championship encounter.

Indeed, the former 2004 ABA lightweight champion now has the same number of defeats as Crolla had prior to the new champion's rejuvenation, he is 13-2 (5) and can come again.  David Coldwell, who trains Watson, has the experience required for such a task.  The Sheffield-based coach knows that a fighter's career is a long old road, he brought Ryan Rhodes from the brink of obscurity all the way to the cusp of world title opportunity.

Crolla echoed this sentiment, paying homage to the fact that Watson gave it all his all on Saturday night.  “I have been to see John, he's one hell of a fighter and it was a privilege to have that type of TV fight against him – it was one of the best fights this year,” said the former 2006 ABA lightweight champion in the immediate aftermath of his latest title win.

“I feel on top of the world.  It is great to sit here with the Lonsdale belt over my shoulder.  I've wanted this since I was a little boy.  I worked on the finishing shot in the gym.  I was confident that I'd get the knockout.  [Trainer] Joe [Gallagher] told me all week long that the right hook was the shot and you hear him call for it on TV.”

“We knew as early as the second round that it was mine.  When John had his big burst I knew he couldn't keep that pace up and that I had to bide my time.  I had a great crowd, you wouldn't have known it was in Liverpool tonight.  I knew the judges wouldn't be swayed by the crowd and his bursts,” beamed Crolla.

“I have learned to stay calm when my opponent throws shots from John Murray and all those rounds sparring him.  I knew to tuck up, catch and throw and get my shots through.  My shots may not have been pretty on the eye but I knew they were doing damage.”

Watson landed some solid blows, notably with his left hand.  When Watson did land with accurate punches, Crolla took a moment to steady himself.  Anthony, though, insisted that he was never in trouble.

“I don't want to sound disrespectful, but there wasn't a moment in the fight when I was hurt.  There was a chance for me to go for John in the sixth but I knew that he'd come back against Gavin Rees so I had to pick my time and it wasn't quite right then,” he revealed.

“It is a privilege to be linked with Gavin Rees” answered Crolla in response to Rees's admission that the 20-2 (8) titlist is now on his radar.  “I'm British champion now and a lot of people want this belt – I have to fight all these guys.  It is what it is and I'd love to fight Gavin.  It is a bit surreal.  People were writing me off eighteen months ago and now I'm linked with a former world champion.

“I've got such a great team behind me.  Joe, the guys, Mick Williamson and Kerry Kayes.  Kerry is the best in the business for nutrition.  We will sit down and talk about the best weight for me.  But I don't want to let go of this belt now I've got it.”

Gallagher will probably need a plastic surgeon to remove his smile in the wake of Crolla's title win.  I gave him his toughest task of the year, to break down the fight in two thousand words or less.  “To borrow a football cliché – over the moon,” he laughed. 

“It was a great win and a great night for Manchester boxing.  A contender for fight of the year and well worth the gamble.  We were confident.  I told Crolla to use the southpaw right hook and it worked.  Crolla is an example that you have to listen hard in the gym.”

Anthony is 2-0 (2) in title fights, this represents a quarter of his KOs.  Journeymen tend to take him the distance, he scores KO wins when up against it, surely Gallagher is lining up a murderers' row in order to further boost Anthony's KO rate?

He said, “John Murray's had stoppages in all his British and EBU title fights and Crolla is doing the same.  They work hard in the gym and get it right on the night.  John Watson's only made lightweight twice before and lost momentum in both of them.  Crolla set a pace that was uncomfortable, as soon as John planted his feet for big shots we knew we had him so Crolla turned the screw.  I said to relax as a desperate man throws desperate punches and Crolla wasn't desperate.  He kept it tight and waited for the moment to come again.  A cool head won the fight.

“I'm a boxing fan and will sit down and enjoy this now the nerves are gone.  There's lots more to come from Anthony this year.  Crolla is building a Best of Anthony Crolla collection for the fans to enjoy.  Matchroom presented us with a great opportunity and Anthony's dream as a boy was to fight for this title.  A chance didn't come at super-featherweight but this one came and he took it.”

It was time to don my matchmaker's cap.  Crolla wants a showdown with EBU boss Murray; John told me that he is available; how about the Crolla-Murray battle?  “Yeah”, joked Gallagher, “next up is John Murray, a showdown in Gallagher's Gym for the British and European belts.  We'll get Sky TV in and give them the filming rights!”

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