{"id":60384,"date":"2016-05-10T23:32:13","date_gmt":"2016-05-11T04:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=60384"},"modified":"2016-05-10T23:33:36","modified_gmt":"2016-05-11T04:33:36","slug":"anthony-crolla-wins-big-lee-haskins-defends-this-saturday-boxing-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=60384","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Crolla Wins Big \u2013 Lee Haskins Defends this Saturday \u2013 Boxing News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"anthony-crolla\"<\/a>By Donald \u201cBraveheart\u201d Stewart<\/strong><\/p>\n

There was a time when people thought that Manchester\u2019s Anthony \u201cMillion Dollar\u201d Crolla, 31-4-3, 13 KO\u2019s and WBA lightweight world champions was\u2026 a bit of a lightweight. In a time when having an 0 in losses was highly valued, Crolla\u2019s 4 defeats were seen by many as a blot on his landscape. But who wants a boring clean canvas when you can have a battle scarred veteran with wins etched on his face?<\/p>\n

This past weekend, Crolla stepped into the ring and took on a customer many thought would be his undoing. Ismael Barossa, 19-1-2, 18 KO\u2019s was undefeated and had sent the highly popular Kevin Mitchell, 39-4, 20 KO\u2019s into retirement. Many feared the worst\u2026
\nBarroso came to punch. The punishment he was doling out was clean and it was brutal but Crolla absorbed it. Crolla may have been bullish afterwards talking of this defense was in \u201chis house\u201d and nobody takes anything away from \u201chis house\u201d but this was a genuinely tricky contest. Barroso wasn\u2019t tickling him \u2013 he was hurting him.
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By the seventh round, Barroso though had very little left in his tank. The punishment that he had given Crolla was tiring. Crolla, under the guidance of the wily and back to form Joe Gallagher, was patient and very defensively minded. The tricky Venezuelan struggled to get through Crolla\u2019s guard. When he did get through, Crolla\u2019s face was increasingly bearing the hallmarks of a fighter who has been in a very tough fight.<\/p>\n

It was by the 5th that Barroso was starting to fade and Crolla was beginning to gain the ascendancy. By the 6th Barroso was on the ropes and then on the floor. It was a matter of when now as Barroso started to look for ways to avoid the punches headed his way. Crolla knew that he had the measure of him and all he needed was to finish him off. In the 7th he did that.<\/p>\n

Crolla had the speed, he had the accuracy and most importantly he had the game plan that saw him into the 7th round and through the challenger onto victory. Once Barroso was struggling, Crolla stood his ground and started to trade; it was chess on a canvas rug.<\/p>\n

The significance of this win goes beyond the ropes. Crolla has gone from being one hell of a lucky guy to a world class champion. The next step for him will be unification fights and large money opportunities, of that I am sure. Crolla is one of the really good guys so it is nice to see him rewarded.<\/p>\n

This weekend sees the man, who did not raise a fist in anger but got a world title make his first defense. Lee Haskins 32-3, 14 KO\u2019s is the IBF super bantamweight title holder who was declared the interim champion after beating, by sixth-round knockout, Japan’s Ryosuke Iwasa, 21-2, 13\"Lee<\/a> KO\u2019s last June. Full titleholder Randy Caballero, 23-0, 14KO\u2019s at the time was recovering from foot surgery. Haskins then went over to America to fight the champion, Caballero. Caballero surrendered his belt on the scales as he failed to make weight \u2013 he was a whopping 5 \u00bd pounds over the limit. Having been given the chance to fight Caballero anyway, Haskins decided he didn\u2019t want to and returned home with the world title round his waist.<\/p>\n

For Haskin\u2019s first defense he has the brother of a ring legend, Erik Morales in Ivan Morales, 29-1, 17 KO\u2019s. Promoted by former world featherweight champion, Barry McGuigan, Haskins has many admirers and this is expected to be the customary first defence that is not easy but is not too hard either.<\/p>\n

Morales comes to the UK with the legend of his brother in front of him but not the reputation of being a dangerous opponent. No matter how much you can tag his name onto the brother, he does not come with his brother\u2019s versatile and devastating attributes. Morales has not fought outside of the Americas and this is a massive step up for him. Although Morales has only 1 defeat on his record, the wins he gathered have been against far inferior opposition to Haskins. This looks, on paper like a soft first defense. But you don\u2019t fight with paper.<\/p>\n

He is though, a Mexican and by definition proud. A southpaw and tall, with a long reach this could be a very tricky fight for southpaw Haskins. I do think that this is going to be a great fight. Live on Channel Five in the UK we can look forward to seeing whether the one world champion we have, who has yet to fight for his world title, is worthy of the belt.<\/p>\n

Though Morales may be awkward I think it shall be a mid to late stoppage for Haskins. He has to be careful though as Caballero has an excellent win rate inside the distance therefore we know that Caballero is equipped to stop him. I just think that Haskins has too much and shall take it.
\nAs for all the hype surrounding the Mexican royalty about to descend next Saturday on the Cardiff Ice Arena, south west boy Haskins has been widely quoted as saying, “I might ask for a photo with Erik Morales before the fight, before I beat his brother.” Next week watch out for whether Haskins has kept that belt, here on Ringside Report\u2026
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