Bob Arum Plans To Bring Vasyl Lomachenko To The UK To Fight Anthony Crolla This Summer

Boxingnews247.com

British fighter Anthony “Million Dollar” Crolla would live up to his glitzy nickname indeed if he could win the big fight promoter Bob Arum is looking at making this summer in the UK. Speaking at today’s London presser to officially announce another big fight involving a British fighter – Terence Crawford against Amir Khan – the Top Rank boss told talkSPORT how he is looking at bringing lightweight champ and pound-for-pound star Vasyl Lomachenko to the UK to fight Crolla this summer.

Lomacheko will first fight the winner of the February 2nd clash between Richard Comney against Isa Chaniev, who will duel for the vacant IBF lightweight title, but after that it could be Manchester’s Crolla.

“We’re doing a fight February 2 (Comney-Chaniev), for the vacant IBF lightweight title and both guys have singed to meet Lomachenko in April,” Arum said. “If that happens, that will be his next fight. For the summer, I’d like to bring him over here (to London, or somewhere in the UK) and arrange this Crolla [fight]. I know Loma would love to fight in the UK.”

And we UK fight fans would love to have him fight over here. One of the finest boxers of recent years, Lomachenko dazzles both his opposition and his fans. With all due respect to both Comney and Chaniev, neither man would be given anything approaching a great chance of derailing the Lomachenko Express, which means Crolla could, all being well, get the fight of a lifetime.

32 year old Crolla, 34-6-3(13) is a former WBA lightweight champion, having reigned from November of 2015 until September of the following year, when he lost to Jorge Linares in a good, close fight. Crolla lost a wider decision in the return but he has since bounced back to win three in a row. Linares is of course the man who has thus far (Orlando Salido aside) given Lomachenko his hardest pro fight to date. Crolla would of course enter the ring as a considerable underdog if he fought Lomachenko, but the former champ would surely rise to the occasion and perhaps give the performance of his life.

It would be a great event for British boxing (and if Crolla managed to pull off the upset, it would perhaps rank up there with even the stunner Randy Turpin managed back in the 1950s when he upset the immortal Sugar Ray Robinson; this fight being held in the UK) and it is to be hoped Arum can make it happen.