Manchester born Anthony Crolla was crowned the WBA World Lightweight champion last night following a phenomenal fifth round stoppage against Darleys Perez.
The Columbian slumped to his feet with just thirty seconds remaining in the round after absorbing a sustained battery of blows to the face that pushed him to the ropes where he surrendered.
There was some confusion over the judges' decision in their first meeting back in July but with Perez unable to get back to his feet at the referee's command, there was no room for controversy this time.
Anthony Crolla KO's Perez with a body shot in the 5th - the 1st time Perez is stopped #CrollaPerez #AndTheNew https://t.co/Xcm30xmkPR
— KO KINGS (@KOKINGS4) November 21, 2015
As the fifth round entered its final minute, Crolla was landing some neat facial hits before unleashing a smooth combination which culminated in a body shot that the Columbian had no response for.
Prior to that sensational finale however, the contest featured some excellent hits from both fighters.
Anthony Crolla: Dec 2014: Fractured skull after attacked by burglar. Nov 2015: World champion. What a story! pic.twitter.com/xgU6aIfToM
— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) November 22, 2015
Perez landed an impressive uppercut in the second while Crolla's ferocity was quietly maturing. And by the fourth, he was producing combinations and uppercuts to please his home fans in the Manchester Arena.
Congratulations Million Dollar @ant_crolla Manchesters new World Champion an all round great bloke #MUFC pic.twitter.com/P0i1PNVZVr
— Red Army! (@RedorDead07) November 22, 2015
And his final act of brilliance in the fifth could not be matched. Speaking after his victory, Crolla told Sky Sports: 'I've dreamt this dream since I was 10 years of age," he told Sky Sports. "I didn't know it would be this good, honestly. It's even better than I dreamt. I believe I am getting stronger all the time, but I thought it was going to be a head shot. I was really confident that I was going to get a head shot, but I'll take that body shot any day of the week.'
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