Exclusive: Will Crolla Says Tough Love from Brother Anthony Fuels His Success

Will Crolla has revealed how his sometimes turbulent relationship with brother and trainer Anthony can also help him reach the pinnacle of the sport.

The 26-year-old’s older sibling held the WBA lightweight title before becoming a respected coach, overseeing Rhiannon Dixon’s march to the top of his old division before she surrendered her WBO title to Terri Harper six months ago.

Crolla, who competes at super welterweight, is now making his own waves in boxing and enters his latest bout on Friday night with an unblemished professional record.

Having stopped all but one of his seven opponents inside the distance, Crolla is fast developing a reputation as one of Britain’s most explosive fighters.

But, speaking exclusively to SportsBoom.com, the Mancunian explained how brotherly love does not prevent him and Anthony swapping a few home truths during his notoriously gruelling training camps.

“There’s absolute trust between me and Ant,” Crolla said. 

“There’s no one else I’d want to have in my corner and I’m fortunate to have him there."

“But we’re very different people, trust me. And if you come to our gym you’d be surprised at some of the rows we can have. We’re always chipping away at each other. It goes in both directions."

“He’ll jump straight on me if he thinks I’m not doing something right. I’ll jump on him if the music isn’t right or it’s not loud enough."

“We’re different fighters and we’ve got different personalities too. But that doesn’t stop us thinking what we do of each other."

"I actually think the way we are, especially when it comes to boxing, is healthy because we both say what we think. Nothing gets brushed under the carpet and that helps me so much.”

“To me, he’s not Anthony, the former world champion,” Crolla continued. 

“He’s Anthony my brother and everyone knows what brothers can be like!”

PUMMEL INTO SUBMISSION

Despite appearing on the undercard of Arnold Barboza Jr contest against Jack Catterall last month - when he became the first person to pummel the durable Ayoub Zakari into submission - Crolla returns to the ring again later this week at Altrincham’s Planet Ice venue. 

His opponent Emmanuel Zion, last fought in January - appearing on the same show as British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion Callum Simpson and Dixon’s domestic rival Caroline Dubois.

“I want to be active so it doesn’t bother me going back out there again so quickly,” Crolla said. 

“The only thing that’ll be hard is staying on weight because I couldn’t completely come off diet between fights."

“But I always try to stay in good shape and this is what I do. I want to be busy so no issues.”

Anthony, now aged 38, was already one of Manchester’s most popular boxers before wrestling the WBA strap away from Darleys Perez in 2015. He also faced the likes of Vasily Lomachenko, Jorge Linares and Ricky Burns during a stellar career.

Crolla said: “Being able to draw on Anthony’s experience is brilliant and, fortunately, nothing gets sugar coated."

“But he knows I want to do this for myself. In fact, he’s told me that should be the case."

“I’m immensely proud of him but it’s not about following in his footsteps or anything like that. This is about me trying to become a world champion in my own right and I’m certain that I can.”