Anthony Crolla vs Darleys Perez Preview November 21st
There’s another world title fight over in Manchester, England this weekend as hometown hero Anthony Crolla be facing Darleys Perez of Colombia for the Perez’s WBA Lightweight title at Manchester Arena on Saturday, November 21st. This is a rematch if their July 18th bout at the same venue which ended in a controversial draw. Some fans believed Crolla deserved the win, but I wasn’t one of them. It was a huge fight for Crolla though as it was feared his career was over last December following an attack near his home. He suffered serious head injuries in the incident after being struck with a concrete block, but has now thankfully resumed his career. This 12-round bout can be seen live in the UK on Sky Sports.
Crolla vs Perez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Darleys Perez +155
- Anthony Crolla -180
My Pick
The 29-year-old Crolla will enter the ring with a record of 29-4-3 along with 11 Kos while the 32-year-old Perez is 32-1-1 and has 20 Kos under his belt. Crolla was originally scheduled to fight former champion Richar Abril, but missed out on that opportunity due to the fractured skull and broken ankle he suffered in the attack. Crolla heard a commotion in his neighbour’s yard and decided to intervene when it looked like the neighbour was about to be robbed. He fought well against Perez the first time around, but to be honest, only earned the draw after Perez had a point deducted in both the 11th and 12th rounds for low blows.
Perez is riding a five-bout unbeaten streak, with four wins and a draw, after suffering his lone career loss to Yuriokis Gamboa of Cuba back in June of 2013 by way of unanimous decision. The WBA handed Perez the lightweight title after Abril was stripped of it for failing to defend it. At the time, Perez was the interim champion. Crolla has a slight height advantage here as he stands just over 5-feet-8-inches tall while Perez is 5-foot-7. However, Perez has the reach advantage at 70 inches to 67. He also has an advantage when it comes to power as his current knockout ratio stands at 59 per cent while Crolla’s is just 31 per cent.
Crolla turned pro back in 2006 and has gone 215 rounds since then while Perez has 187 rounds on his resume since turning pro in 2009. Perez has faced some decent opponents during his career such as Gamboa, Jose Reyes, and Oscar Meza. However, he’s also fought quite a few journeymen as well. Still, he packs some power and so far has displayed a pretty solid chin. On the other hand, Crolla has four losses on his record against domestic opponents. He drew with Derry Mathews and was beaten by Youssef Al Hamidi and twice by Gary Sykes. In addition, Mathews stopped him in the sixth round back in 2012. However, he’s also fought some decent British opponents such as Andy Morris, John Watson, Willie Limond, Gavin Rees and John Murray.
Perez once again represents Crolla’s toughest opponent to date and he should have gained some confidence from their first meeting. Crolla needs to use his mobility and slick combinations against Perez since he doesn’t really have the power to slug it out with him. He’ll definitely have the crowd behind him again and that may help him out like it did the first time. Perez appears to have a bit of an overblown record against mostly fellow Colombian opponents, but was good enough to go 12 rounds with Gamboa. The same could be said of Crolla, as he’s built up his record against domestic opponents and has also been beaten four times.
Prediction……
Give Perez credit for heading back to Manchester after the controversial point deductions in their first meeting. In a way, this could turn out to be a problem for Crolla since Perez now realizes what he has to do to earn a win in England and could decide to go for a knockout rather than leave the result in the hands of the judges. Crolla fought with a lot of heart the first time around and will do so again on Saturday, but Perez should be able to leave town with the belt again by a close decision or late stoppage. Either way, expect another very close fight.
This fight is close enough to go with either boxer.
Play: Perez +155 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Anthony Crolla betting • Darleys Perez betting