Anthony Crolla vs Ismael Barroso: The Panel's predictions
Mitchell, Froch, Watt, Moore, McCrory and Smith
Saturday 7 May 2016 19:21, UK
Anthony Crolla faces one of the toughest first defences The Panel can recall in the shape of Ismael Barroso... how do they see it going?
Live Fight Night
Jim Watt
When we first saw Barroso against Kevin Mitchell, I was just expecting him to be a crude, southpaw hitter but he looked good regardless of the arguments that Kevin's best days may have been behind him. I am expecting the same sort of performance Crolla put in against John Murray two years ago. He kept it all tight, kept plenty in the tank and let Murray run out of steam before finishing strongly.
We know Crolla is a complete fighter and defensively he is good; he's tight, he keeps his hands high, then shuffles in and is hard to hit. My big worry is that Barroso hits hard enough to go through that defence and if he starts getting to the head, Anthony could be in big trouble because we know he doesn't run away. But I am going for Crolla to overturn a first-half deficit and nick it on points.
Carl Froch
Barroso can punch, that's for sure and this is a really, really tough mandatory - especially for Crolla's first one - so luck isn't exactly on his side again. But the one thing you do when you win that world title is grow in confidence and I have a feeling we will see that from Ant. He will be waking up every morning, knowing his belt is on the line but I just think we will see a better Ant Crolla.
He really had to work hard for that belt, not getting that first decision, but that will make him a better, harder fighter than ever. The body shot that stopped Darleys Perez to win it stands out and we saw what Barroso did against Kevin Mitchell, so I think this is going to be a hard, hard fight. I can see Crolla having to survive an early onslaught but I see him winning on points.
Glenn McCrory
I think Crolla is the sort of kid that will have grown since winning that world title. If you think about the journey he has had to go through, we know he's tough enough, we know he isn't going to let it go and I think we are going to see Crolla go from strength to strength. He is too classy to lose to Barroso.
If I am honest, Barroso beat a battle-worn Kevin Mitchell and Crolla will have a different mental attitude. He is always smiling, in good spirits and above all, seems ready for the next challenge. Barroso can bang but I expect Crolla to use his head and boxing ability and not get involved, and negate that raw power we saw against Mitchell. Once he's done that, I can only see Crolla winning with a comprehensive points decision.
Paul Smith
I am not sure we'll see a different Ant Crolla now he's a world champion but we will see a better Ant Crolla. He'll be 100 per cent more confident and he'll have that swagger you get when someone wins a title - and we are talking Central Area, English, or European, never mind the WBA world title. I've seen Ant with that swagger and Joe Gallagher also wants to bring out the nastiness that we know he's got.
Barroso is a very tough first defence but that sums up Ant. He's worked so hard to get up there and he earned that title more than most, and he is going to keep that title. I'm hoping we see Ant take the sting out of him early, then put it on him late on and this could well be a classic fight of two halves. Everyone knows I am a betting man so I would say the safe bet is Crolla on points, maybe even a late stoppage.
Jamie Moore
I've got to be honest; this is a very, very dangerous fight. Barroso came here as an unknown against Kevin Mitchell and surprised a lot of people - me included. I was very shocked as I thought Kevin would win that fight. In one sense, it's a risky fight but he has to take it because Barroso is mandatory.
On the other side, there'll be no shock factor because he'll have a much better idea about what's going to be in front of him. Crolla needs movement and angles and obviously a really tight defence because Barroso can punch. I've got a feeling it's going to be a really close fight. There will be patches in which Barroso has success, letting his hands go with Crolla on the ropes but Anthony is very tight defensively. I see Crolla pulling away in the final rounds to win it on points. It won't be easy, though.
Kevin Mitchell
Crolla has to box smart, keep to his jab and avoid throwing combinations of more than three punches. If I was Crolla, I'd stick to ones, twos and threes. He needs to give him angles and never move back in straight lines. Crolla can't afford to jump right back - he needs to be close enough to keep sticking the jab on him and keep him under pressure. He needs head movement, too.
Crolla is our world champion and we should all get behind him. I think Crolla can do it if he sticks with it but it's a hard fight and if I was pushed for a prediction then I'd say Barroso knocks him out inside eight rounds.
