Crolla vs Barroso Odds – This Saturday, May 7th, in Manchester, WBA World lightweight champion Anthony Crolla (30-4-3) makes his first title defense as he faces the challenge of Venezuela’s Ismael Barroso (19-0-2).
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You have to hand it Anthony Crolla. He is going to be 30-years-old in November, and he has been fighting professionally for more than 10 years. Last July he earned his first shot at a world title against Darleys Perez of Colombia. That fight ended controversially in a draw, with Perez having a point deducted in each of the final two rounds for low blows, helping to even things up for Crolla. Perez returned to England in November, and this time Crolla landed a body shot to Perez in the fifth that put and end to things and sent the Brit home with the world belt.
In his last outing, Barroso fought Brit Kevin Mitchell (39-3) this past December with an interim version of the WBA belt on the line. He entered that fight as an underdog as the idea for promoter Eddie Hearn was to match Mitchell up with Crolla at some point down the line. Well, Barroso started knocking Mitchell down in the fourth round and after two more in the fifth it was over.
Crolla goes by the nickname “Million Dolla” and he is going to get a chance to prove his worth against Barroso. Crolla is from Manchester, and five of his last six fights come in the Manchester Arena, the same place this fight is taking place. The line is near pick ’em despite Crolla’s home cooking.
And the fact is that Barroso does not care about any of that. His fight with Mitchell was in the Manchester Arena, so he even is familiar with the venue. Venezuela is not a country with tons of boxing and once Barroso proved himself to be elite he found himself fighting on the road extensively.
Barroso will be looking for the knockout. He has 18 stoppage wins in his 19 fights so he is very capable of delivering the KO. Crolla is a high-skill boxer who will look to stay safe. He does know what he is getting in Barroso, as the Venezuelan displayed his wares amply against Mitchell with Crolla present and watching.
Crolla vs Barroso Odds
The complete card at the Manchester Arena features twelve fights in all and is promoted by Matchroom Boxing. Check back later in the week to see if more fights have been added. The card also counts on veteran fighters Paul Smith (35-6) and Martin Murray (32-3-1). Smith is the oldest of four brothers who fights, and he is coming off three losses in a row and is in bad need of a win. As for Martin Murray, he is trying to bounce back from a loss to Arthur Abraham and get some ring-time in before he faces George Groves on June 25th as the support fight to Anthony Joshua and Dominic Breazeale’s IBF heavyweight title clash.
Below are the odds for this fight. Do not forget to check out our Talk ‘n’ Shoot Podcast for more details.
Lightweight 12 rounds –
Anthony Crolla -120
Ismael Barroso +100
