By Scott Gilfoid: #9 WBC Anthony Crolla (29-4-3, 11 KOs) is really looking forward to his rematch against WBA World lightweight champion Darleys Perez (32-1-1, 20 KOs) in 12 days from now on November 21st at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, UK. Crolla, 28, says he dreams of being a world champion.
The fact that Crolla is getting a second chance at fighting Perez for a world title has to be considered a gift by the World Boxing Association, who ordered a rematch between them after the two fighters fought to a 12 round draw last July. Having seen the Perez-Crolla fight, Crolla really lucked out in getting a draw because he would have lost the fight if the referee working the fight Howard John Foster hasn’t taken points off from Perez in the 11th and 12 rounds of the fight.
Foster basically saved Crolla from losing that fight with those point deductions. It’s always tough being the visiting fighter going into a strange country, but never more so for Perez in him finding himself on the receiving end of two point deductions against the home fighter Crolla.
“I think about winning the world title in Manchester every single day,” said Crolla via skysports.com. “I think about it going into the gym, before I go to sleep, over and over. I am sure the real thing will be even better than how I imagine it, and that is what I want to experience on November 21.”
I don’t think Crolla is going to be able to get the better of Perez in this fight, because Perez was the better fighter last time out. Crolla looked very mediocre in that fight just as he did in his fights against Gavin Rees and Derry Mathews. I had Crolla losing both of those bouts, but he was given a draw against Mathews and a controversial win over Rees.
Crolla’s lack of punching power and poor defensive skills means that it’s hard for him to beat decent quality fighters. I don’t see Crolla being able to beat a guy like Perez on November 21st unless we have some more point deductions in his favor in the championship rounds that saves the day for him like last time out. But what are the odds in that happening? I mean, it would look really bad to see Crolla losing the fight going into the 11th round and then him getting the benefit of more point deductions.
“I will do everything I can to make that dream come true. It has been a dream since I first laced a pair of gloves, every fighter has the same dream, and there would be no better setting than to do it in front of my hometown people,” Crolla said.
It’s tough on Perez, the WBA champion, having to go back to Crolla’s hometown to fight once again as the visitor despite the fact that he’s the world champion and Crolla being just a fringe contender at best. Let’s be real about this.
Perez is the champion going to Crolla’s own hometown to fight in front of his fans for a second time after losing his chance at beating Crolla when the referee took points off in the championship rounds that kept Crolla from losing the fight. Normally you don’t see a referee take off two points in back to back rounds like we saw in the Perez-Crolla fight last July.
It’s quite fortunate for Crolla that it happened, because he would have lost if not for that. If you look at the second point deduction in slow motion, Crolla pulls Perez’s head downward as he’s throwing a punch, which caused him to throw a low blow. There’s no way on earth that it should have resulted in a point deduction against Perez, because if I could see what happened, then the referee should have seen it too because he was standing directly in front of the fighters when it took place.
If Perez is smart, he’ll be looking to take the judges out of the fight on November 21st by focusing on loading up every punch he throws to try and get Crolla out of there. Perez can’t afford to take chances of letting the fight go to the scorecards because he might need a knockout to ensure he walks out of the Arena with his WBA title still in his possession.
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