I Knew In The First Minute I Would Win- Anthony Crolla

Anthony Crolla has said that he knew within a minute that he would beat Ismael Barroso. The champion soaked up the punishment in the early rounds but the tables turned midway through the fifth round and Crolla forced a stoppage in the seventh. Barroso was counted out after a powerful body shot.

Crolla said “Honestly, I was so confident, everyone was saying before it 'are you a little bit too relaxed?' but I knew all the hard work had been done and it was just a matter of going out there and carrying out the tactics which had been set out. I knew within a minute, although him being a very, very big puncher, I was confident the fight was going to go exactly the way it did”.

Crolla defeated Darleys Perez in five rounds to win the world title but says Saturday's victory may have eclipsed his November win. He said “I'm not sure, it might of even topped it you never get the feeling back of becoming a world champion and achieving the dream that I've had for so long. But on Saturday night because I was a big underdog and because of the reputation that Barroso came over with, if it wasn't better it was very close to it”