Anthony Crolla was clearly second best in his rematch with Venezuela’s Jorge Linares on Saturday night.
In terms of technique and ability to dictate the pace of the fight, in which the WBA and The Ring lightweight titles were on the line, defending champion Linares’ superiority could not be questioned.
But when it came to heart, there was no loser as Manchester’s Crolla refused to give in despite the fact that he was being lit up.
A bloodied Crolla was dropped in the seventh round of the showdown in the M.E.N. Arena and the end looked near.
But Crolla was not prepared to allow his trainer, Joe Gallagher, call a premature halt to proceedings as he backed himself in the way that all great fighters do.
Prior to the final round, ‘Million Dolla’ was clearly down on the scorecards but remained determined to see out the task at hand in front of his hometown fans as he protested the attempts of Gallagher to throw in the towel.
Crolla refusing to be pulled out of the fight, respect. Heart of a lion. pic.twitter.com/rJoOPDRPPZ
— ASB (@AstarBoxing) March 25, 2017
“Joe wanted to pull me out and I pleaded to let me go on. No lie, I was alright. Joe was thinking that he [Linares] was in his rhythm and I needed the stoppage and it probably wasn’t going to come,” Crolla said after the fight, via BoxingNewsOnline.net.
“You ask any fighter, it’s not me being brave, no one would want to be stopped with a round to go and that’s all. In the 12th round I was never in danger of getting stopped. I’m really thankful Joe didn’t pull me out.”
In spite of Crolla’s courage, there was no spectacular comeback in the stars and Linares claimed a unanimous 118-109 decision to retain his titles in enemy territory.
And while he came up short, Crolla’s bravery ought to be applauded as there are plenty of fighters who would have looked for a way out after being dominated for so long against a monster like Linares.
There are not many Anthony Crollas out there!
