Anthony Crolla: "I know I'm in for a tough night and it will take a career-best performance by some way."
Anthony Crolla is under no illusion about the task at hand. The former lightweight world champion has rallied back on track towards another shot at that prestigious honour but the final hurdle on his latest route poses a mountainous endeavour.
On April 12th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, the Manchester native will climb into the ring to challenge pound-for-pound talent Vasyl Lomachenko for his WBA 'Super' and WBO titles, while the Ring Magazine belt is also up for grabs. After dethroning Jorge Linares last May to become the fastest ever three-weight world titlist in the sport's history, achieving that feat in just 12 bouts, Lomachenko unified the division with a decision triumph over Jose Pedraza.
Having clinched Pedraza's WBO crown for his current collection, the Ukrainian's eyes were firmly set on adding the rest of the 135lbs straps to his evergrowing silverware possessions. Mikey Garcia is the present owner of the WBC belt and 'Loma' has long been calling for what would be a super-fight with the Mexican-American star down the line. But that looks nothing more than a pipedream now as Garcia instead prepares to try and become a five-division champion by incredibly overcoming welterweight king Errol Spence Jr on March 17th.
Huge American opportunity
The other and most likely option was Richard Commey, with the Ghanian owning the IBF title after dominantly stopping Isa Chaniev inside just two rounds to claim the then-vacant honour in February. 'Loma' looked set to land the opportunity to clinch that strap too but the African champion was sickeningly ruled out with a hand injury sustained in his crowning lightweight victory.
Other names in around the weights have been put forward too but battles with the likes of Gervonta Davis and Manny Pacquiao are unlikely to happen anytime soon, or ever. So step forward Anthony Crolla. The now 32-year-old has forged out an admirable career at the top of the sport despite many seemingly disastrous setbacks in the past, both inside and outside of the squared circle.
Early career defeats at lower levels and the well-documented attack that could've ended fatally back in late 2014 threatened to derail his ambitions. But the relentless and ever hopeful Briton bounced back to realise his dream feat and enjoy several huge fight nights on home territory.
Crolla set for huge underdog role
Crolla will next climb the ring ropes on April 12th as the massive 16/1 underdog with Betway, as of March 1, to pull off one of the most major upsets in boxing history. Lomachenko's recent dominance and overall brilliance in the ring is proven further by his huge odds-on 1/100 price as the fight favourite to prevail this time out again.
This won't be the first time the popular Manchester fighter has featured on American soil as a professional but it's undoubtedly his most high-profile outing there and probably the biggest of his entire career in the paid ranks. His American debut came way back in 2011 when he outpointed Mexican Juan Montiel across eight rounds at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. This came on a controversial night in Sin City, with Crolla's decision win coming on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather's bizarre knockout victory over Victor Ortiz.
That outing will seem a lifetime ago for the Mancunian, as he gears up for unquestionably the sternest fight of his career to date. While no one but his passionate supporters are giving him any chance of upsetting the odds and delivering a monumental shock on his Stateside travels, Crolla is far from fazed.
"I am a huge underdog and that's fuel to the fire for me," he outlined in the build-up to this California venture.
There was much backlash over Crolla's deserving of a shot at the unified lightweight titles and the consensus number one fighter on the planet. But since losing his former straps to Linares in 2016 and falling short in their rematch months later on home turf, he has worked his way back into contention as the mandatory challenger with successive victories over Ricky Burns, Edson Ramirez and Daud Yordan.
While this has been widely dubbed an impossible mission for Crolla, the Manchester outsider is undeterred with outside opinions and comments, instead focusing on what's ahead of him on April 12th.
"No one is invincible, are they?"