Manchester Lightweight Anthony Crolla gets his chance at revenge on March 30th as he travels to Liverpool to take on hometown hero Derry Matthews for the vacant British and Commonwealth titles.
The domestic dust up is a rematch of Britain’s 2012 Fight of the Year, which saw underdog Matthews rip away the Lonsdale bet from Crolla in the sixth round of a back and forth encounter.
The fight started well for Crolla, with his high work rate and stiff jab likely winning him the first two rounds. But in the third, Matthews landed two huge uppercuts, one of which sent the defending champion down for the first time in his amateur and pro career. Rising somewhat gingerly, Crolla looked to meet fire with fire in centre ring rather than spoiling the onrushing Liverpudlian.
By the fourth, an overhand right from Matthews opened a nasty cut above Crolla’s left eye, briefly forcing referee John Keane to halt the action. The two resumed their manic pace in the fifth, but it was Matthews who got the better of proceedings, a right uppercut forcing the referee to wave the fight off midway through the sixth.
“This is the fight I wanted more than any other out there so I’m really pleased that we’ve got it done,” Crolla told Sky Sports.
“Anyone who was there that night or who watched it on Sky Sports will be as delighted as we are that the rematch is on as it was such a great fight."
“Derry came into my backyard and beat me in the first one so I have to turn the tables on him and do the same in Liverpool so it’s going to be a great atmosphere and a tough fight but one that I’m confident of winning."
Since their first slugfest back in April, the two fighters have had mixed results. Matthews was stopped by Welshmen Gavin Rees in his first defence of his title in July, and both were eliminated in the semi final stage of Prizefighter in October, with Crolla falling short to Gary Sykes, while Matthews, who sustained a cut in the first round, was outpointed by eventual champion Terry Flannigan.
‘Million Dollar’ Crolla bounced back from this disappointment with a gruelling, hard fought win over Kieran Farrell in December, a fight which ended the Lancashire man’s career, while Matthews stopped Asan Yuseinov in a round on the undercard.
“If I had lost to Anthony I would have retired but the win gave me the shot at Gavin Rees’ European title in another cracking fight’ Matthews said of the pair’s first meeting. “I had a big year last year and I’m targeting more of the same in 2013, and to do that I have to get off to a great start against Anthony.
“I would love to win the British title outright and I’ve got my eye on rematches with Emiliano Marsili and Terry Flannigan, and ultimately a shot at Ricky Burns too. It could be a really huge year for me and to open it with a big fight in Liverpool is fantastic.”
Daniel Vano