Ismael Barros Will Bring The Best Out Of Me- Anthony Crolla

Anthony Crolla is happy to be the underdog against the most avoided lightweight in the world because it will bring the best out of him. The WBA world lightweight champion makes his first defence against Ismael Barrosa in Manchester on May 7. Barrosa has knocked out 18 out of his 19 victims, including Britain's Kevin Mitchell in his last fight in December - and is the Mancunian champion's first mandatory challenger.


Despite fighting in front of his huge local support, Crolla is being classed as the betting underdog, but warned the Venezuelan it will not faze him. He said “This is very tough mandatory but when you're world champion you take on the best challengers and certainly Ismael Barrosa fits that bill. He's a quality fighter, one of the most - if not the most - avoided lightweight in the world, but this is right my up my street. Throughout my career I've gone into fights where I've not been fancied to win or that were seen as a tough test but I've upset all that. I think that's when I perform the best and you only have to look down my record to see the better the opponent, the higher I raise my level and I will look forward to doing it again on May 7”.


Crolla has taken just two weeks off since winning the WBA lightweight strap at the end of November, stopping Darleys Perez with a brutal bodyshot after five rounds of their world title rematch