Wednesday 11 May 2016 15:18, UK
Carl Froch was ringside to see Anthony Crolla remain WBA lightweight world champion on a night The Cobra won't forget in a hurry...
Anthony Crolla's performance against Ismael Barroso was nothing short of genius.
As I said at the time, and this still remains, it was a privilege to be ringside to see him turn in such a disciplined and brilliant performance.
It was emotional, as the Manchester Arena often is, and it was at times mesmerising. I am used to being in the ring not looking on but this night was something I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed.
You could see at the end, when he stopped Barroso having weathered a non-stop and heavy-handed storm, everyone got excited. Eddie Hearn lost the plot, I think even us at ringside weren't far behind and the whole place erupted. It was something I have rarely experienced on the safe side of the ropes.
The one thing we all agree on is the fact that there just isn't a nicer boxer around than Anthony Crolla.
A lot of us expected - and hoped - Crolla would win, but I was as shocked as anyone at how well he did it. Hearn, then Johnny Nelson, said he is now the No 1 lightweight in the world and on the back of that, you can't really argue.
But the one thing we all agree on is the fact that there just isn't a nicer boxer around than Anthony Crolla. To go through such a hard, hard night and keep hold of that world title was something, but nothing is going to take his humility or that smile away.
Once he'd done it, I shouted up to him from ringside: 'Brilliant performance! Unbelievable!' and him - reading my lips I think - just looked down and said: 'Thanks Carl, I really appreciate that.'
Would I have said that to anyone after I'd just kept hold of my world title after such a battering? I doubt it. In fact, would any other boxer out there have done the same? I doubt it.
We will never forget Crolla chased those burglars, they fractured his skull and broke his ankle and he wasn't even sure he was going to be able to box again. Then he wasn't given the decision in his first world title fight against Darleys Perez, which was hard to take as well.
Yet even through those dark times, he always had a smile and something polite to say.
Crolla probably thought after all that: 'I am just going to take by the bull by the horns' and made the most - and I mean the most - of what he's got. I have to say, I think we were all worried that he was going through more dark times from the moment that first Barroso punch landed.
You could hear the thump and almost feel it and for the next four rounds the challenger just kept on throwing those big bombs and they kept landing. But Crolla was so disciplined, he kept his guard high, his guard never dropped and even when that cut appeared, he didn't change and he didn't get drawn into a brawl.
But bit by bit, Barroso's gas started to run out and then, when the sixth started, somehow we knew Crolla was going to do it. Barroso's tactics were the right ones, but the timing was completely wrong.
To try and blast Ant out, for every minute of every round, simply played into Crolla and Joe Gallagher's plan, but the way Ant stayed with it and then produced another good finish - we saw a man who has been through the bad times but has already become a better fighter since winning that world title.
Crolla is now a really solid, compact little fighter and I can see him defending his title against anyone now. He is maybe looking at going to America but the one thing I am sure is that the next time Ant Crolla is headlining at the Manchester Arena, it is going to be packed.
But no matter who he is up against, the discipline he showed does make him hard to be beaten by anyone in that division.
