Anthony Crolla vs. Ismael Barroso: Fight Time, Date, Live Stream and TV Info

Anthony Crolla makes the first defence of his WBA lightweight title against Ismael Barroso on Saturday at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

Local boy Crolla (30-4-3, 12 KOs) returns to the venue where he became champion with a stoppage win over Darleys Perez in November 2015.

Venezuelan Barroso (19-0-2, 18 KOs), a big-hitting southpaw, was last seen stopping Kevin Mitchell in London at the end of last year, with the result sending his opponent into retirement.

On the undercard at the weekend, Martin Murray warms up for his upcoming bout against George Groves with an eight-rounder against Cedric Spera, while Tommy Coyle and Paul Smith are also in action.

Bleacher Report will bring you updates of the main fights from Manchester via our live blog, which will get under way at 8:30 p.m. BST (3:30 p.m. ET).

When: Saturday, May 7, at 10 p.m. BST (5 p.m. ET)

Where: Manchester Arena, Manchester, England

TV: Sky Sports (UK), AWE (U.S.)

Live Stream: SkyGo (UK)

Underdog Status

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You can never accuse Crolla of having it easy.

When the Mancunian failed to beat Derry Mathews in their two British-title bouts, losing the first in 2012 before the rematch in 2013 was scored a draw, it seemed he might forever be stuck at domestic level.

He responded impressively to move to the brink of a world-title challenge, only for his career to be put in jeopardy when he tried to foil a burglary in December 2014.

Hit with a concrete slab, Crolla suffered a fractured skull and broke his ankle in two places. His trainer, Joe Gallagher, told BBC Radio 5 live (h/t Michael Emons of BBC Sport) Crolla was "lucky to be alive."

Thankfully, the fighter battled back. He made a full recovery and returned to the ring in July 2015.

However, the 29-year-old suffered yet another setback when his comeback bout with then-WBA champion Perez was dubiously scored a majority draw.

In the rematch, Crolla took the judges out of the equation. A left hook to the body left Colombian Perez unable to recover in time to beat the count in Round 5.

Now Million Dollar faces Barroso, a heavy-handed foe with an 86 per cent knockout ratio, per BoxRec.

According to Odds Shark, Barroso is the 11-10 favourite, even though he's heading into the champion's back yard.

Crolla is unconcerned by the odds, per Matchroom Boxing: "I’ve been the underdog a lot in my career and it’s worked well for me, I’ve thrived off it. It’s not often the world champion is the underdog when he defends a title, but here we are. I’ve proved people wrong and I will keep doing it."

But, as he has shown in the past, Crolla is not someone who backs down from a challenge.

Flash In The Pan?

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Barroso was something of an unknown quantity when he turned up to face Mitchell last year.

The 33-year-old had been a pro for a decade but had barely made a ripple in the lightweight division. His record was full of knockout wins, yet it contained few names of real note.

There were periods of inactivity: He fought just once in 2009 and 2010, and then had five bouts in 2011.

It was tough to know quite what to expect when he stepped between the ropes at the O2 Arena in the English capital. It soon became clear Barroso was more than just a crude southpaw slugger.

He took a faded Mitchell apart, forcing a TKO win in Round 5 to become the WBA's interim champion.

However Mitchell—who has since hung up his gloves—believes Crolla can succeed where he failed.

The Londoner told Sky Sports (h/t Isaac Robinson of SkySports.com):

"

Just because Barroso did that to me, doesn't mean he's going to do it to Crolla. I was written off when I fought Breidis Prescott because he knocked Amir Khan out and I pulled that one out of the bag as a bigger underdog.

Crolla has to box smart, keep to his jab and avoid throwing combinations of more than three punches. He needs to move his feet and give him angles but not back off too much otherwise Barroso will just run at him. He's got to stick to it.

"

Barroso, meanwhile, sounded confident at Thursday's final press conference, according to Matchroom Sports on Twitter:

Is Barroso as good as his last result suggested, or was that outcome as much to do with Mitchell's declined state?

We should have the answer to that question after the main event on Saturday.

Prediction

Crolla was at ringside to watch Barroso beat Mitchell, so he's seen up close what his opponent is capable of.

This time, though, the Venezuelan will face an Englishman still in his prime, rather than one at the tail-end of a career.

Crolla, along with trainer Gallagher, will have devised a plan to avoid being on the wrong end of any power shots, as well as coping with the southpaw stance.

Barroso has never gone 12 rounds before, but expect Crolla to take him the distance. The champion's lack of power means he will have to settle for a close points win.