Crolla’s fired up for second shot
ANTHONY Crolla insists he will not waste his chance for redemption when he faces Jorge Linares on Saturday.
The two men meet at the Manchester Arena for the second time in six months, with Crolla hoping to win the WBA, WBC diamond and Ring Magazine lightweight titles from the Venezuelan.
Crolla came up short when he fought Linares back in September – but the New Moston boxer is adamant he has learned from his mistakes.
“We’re both bringing different game-plans to the ring and there’s no doubt that we’ll both leave it all in the ring again, like we did last time,” he said.
“I did everything I could to win last time but I came up short, the right man won but there wasn’t a lot in it.
“This time I am going to make sure that doesn’t happen.
“It’s a second chance to win those belts and a second chance to beat a great fighter like Jorge, and I’ve prepared myself physically and mentally to be better than him this time.
“I was disappointed that I lost, and you should never be satisfied with losing. I was happy that I gave everything on the night but there were things I did that I was annoyed about, and I won’t be making those mistakes this time.
“He didn’t outclass me because two of the judges only had one point in it, so we’ve made the adjustments that I need to do to make sure the result is different.”
Meanwhile, one of Crolla’s stablemates is in action on the undercard as Marcus Morrison faces the toughest test of his career so far when he meets Jason Welborn.
Morrison is seen as one of the brightest prospects in the UK at the moment, but Welborn plans on ending the youngster’s rise to the top.
“No disrespect to Marcus, but he is somewhere I want to be. He has the support of Eddie Hearn and he is getting on these big bills,” said Welborn.
“I am here now and I am coming to win. I am coming for him and I will go for it. He will need to be switched on and I want him to come to me and give it what he has got.
“If he thinks he is the next up-andcoming fighter he has got to get me out of the way and I am not going to let him.
“He is a stylish boxer but I know what I have to do to beat him and I will use my experience.
“In the last year I have been up and down so they probably think they have caught me at the right time, but mentally everything is there now.”