ON January 23 Anthony Crolla should have realised a dream, fighting for a world title in the Manchester Arena in his hometown, against WBA lightweight champion Richar Abril. But in December, he heard a disturbance in his neighbour’s house. Crolla confronted the burglars and was struck over the head with a concrete block. He not only fractured his skull but broke his ankle as he fell. It ruled him out of his world title fight and left many wondering if he’d ever fight again.
Whatโs the rehab youโre doing at the moment?
Iโm starting physio. Iโll be able to do a little bit of pool work. Maybe running in the pool, getting the movement back, obviously swimming. Low impact on the foot, Iโll do a bit of cycling in the next week as well. That should all work out well. Thatโll help ease the chance of recovery.
Is your ankle still in a cast?
No, I was meant to stay in a cast for another two weeks but Mike Hayton, who does a lot of boxersโ hands, he put me in touch with a top ankle specialist and I canโt thank Mike enough for that. Heโs looked at my X-Rays and had further X-rays and he thought it would be good to get me out of the cast now and start getting a bit of strength back in the ankle and the circulation, because it stiffened up.
I can do little bits of upper body stuff. Over Christmas thereโs only so many selection boxes you can eat, sat on the couch with your foot up and thereโs only so much television you can watchโฆ Donโt get me wrong I gave it a good go.
Whatโs the situation with the head injury?
Thatโs the most serious thing, the fracture to the skull. Even when my ankleโs getting back to full strength and Iโm getting back in the gym, I wonโt be able to spar or anything like that for a while yet. Before I start sparring, Iโll have another brain scan. Iโve got no worries, I know Iโll be fine. When it comes to it on the day, youโll have bits of doubt but Iโve been told itโs going to be fine and stuff like that. Thereโs no bleeding on the brain, which was a massive thing for us because that would have meant the end of my career. First all of all Iโm really looking forward to getting back in the gym. Iโm not too sure when thatโs going to be just yet. Itโs going to be a lot quicker than what people first expected.
Iโm counting down the days until I get back in the gym but I know that rushing it will only delay me even further.
How are you feeling in yourself?
Iโm very positive about it. I really am. The last few days I had the scans looked at, Iโm healing really well, I feel a lot better about that.
I knew I did anyway but I realised how much I love the sport and how much a part of my life it was. To get back in training the lads, training the kids and stuff, it is brilliant to be back in amongst it.
Has it made you think about what youโd do if you werenโt fighting yourself?
Iโve not thought about it yet. I donโt know what Iโd do. I couldnโt imagine not being able to go to the gym. Iโm so used to being active. I wanted to get in and help train the kids and I couldnโt do that. But Iโm able to go in a bit now and help out a bit there and I went and saw the lads at the gym the other day for the first time. Some of them had come and seen me anyway but it was great to be in that gym atmosphere again.
I think they were happy to see us as well. Some of them have got dates [to fight] and it was good to see them working hard. I miss it. In a weird way you think itโs good to sit back and watch it. I wanted to get up and join in the circuit or join in the circuit but I couldnโt.
What do you make of all the support youโve received?
I couldnโt believe it. I was genuinely humbled by it and took back by it. Boxing, I think itโs one of those sports where something happens and everyone pulls together. In worse incidents than mine you see how people pull together.
When it happened the amount of messages I hadโฆ I couldnโt believe it. It was from all sorts. People Iโve looked up to, people Iโve trained alongside, from some of the best boxers in Britain to amateur kids around the country. It meant a lot to me. I canโt thank those people enough because it meant the world to my family as well.
How depressing was it, it would have been a dream fighting for a world title in Manchester?
I was heartbroken, I really was. I got told it might not seem it but I was actually very lucky. Boxing seems everything to me sometimes. Family comes first. My little boy, without sounding too dramatic, he could have been left without a dad. I could have been in a lot worse shape than I actually was.
I couldnโt have better people around me. I really believe Iโll work hard to get this chance again and something will pop up like that.
I was in the hospital and when I was getting pushed to theatre I saw some older people and they were very ill. Without sounding too morbid, I thought thereโs some people who are going to lose a parent or a grandparent in the next few days. It put things into perspective. Iโve had a bit of dream taken away from me but I look at it like this, itโs just been put on hold.
Derry Mathews will get to fight Richar Abril, what are your feelings on that?
I genuinely wish Derry and his team all the best for it. Itโs a tough fight and no doubt Abril starts favourite, he was favourite with us, but Derry has got a good team around him and one thing I know better than most, heโs certainly got a puncherโs chance in there. If he gets his tactics right on the night and a few things go his way, heโs capable of getting the win, definitely. Itโs a tough fight but he is capable of becoming a world champion.
If he wins, you could have your trilogy fight with him for a world title.
That would be great. Iโm rated high with the WBO as well. Who knows, I might even be able to go that route. I know it sounds a bit far-fetched but you wouldnโt rule out a unification. But at the minute, I do wish him the best. Who knows? I just want to get back in there in a big fight, whoever it may be.
What happened when you confronted the burglars?
Iโd come home from the gym. An alarm was going off, so I rang my neighbour. I said, โI donโt think youโre being burgled but Iโll check the back anyway.โ
It was dark at the time. I saw one of the burglars and I chased him. I saw there were two of them. I was gaining ground on them and I was telling them Iโm going to catch them. I was saying, ‘Youโre not going to get away.’ It would have been hard to grab two of them so I thought Iโm going to grab one of them.
The other burglar whoโs climbing the wall, one of the concrete slabs was loose. He threw the concrete slab down on my head. So it came from a bit of a height as well. Itโs one of them, I was never unconscious or anything. As I went down, I went down on one knee. Straighaway I knew what Iโd been hit with. Iโve been hit hard in my career. Iโve not been hit that hard. I knew that wasnโt a punch. I bounced back up after a second or two. I knew my ankle was gone then.
Do you wish you hadnโt run after them?
I donโt think like that. It wasnโt a brave thing I did or anything like that. Itโs a thing which thousands of other people would do. You look out for your neighbours. It was unfortunate what happened. It canโt be changed now and if it happened again Iโd do the same thing, just for the simple fact itโs a natural reaction. Iโm not trying to be a hero or anything like that. Itโs just a reaction.
CLICK TO READ: Derry Mathews will fight Richar Abril for the WBA world title
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