By Dean Parr On November 27th in Wigan, England former World Title contender Michael Brodie, 36-3-1 (24 early) will fight up-and-comer Anthony Crolla, 14-2 (5 KO’s) in a mouth-watering battle between two Mancunians. The trainers of both fighters see this as a close fight, despite the fact many have written Brodie off since his narrow comeback victory over Mark Alexander in August. Brodie, 35, was put down twice in this encounter, although he did show his immense heart by rallying and coming back to win by a fourth-round TKO, knocking his foe down twice in that session. Joe Pennington, the trainer of Brodie, attributed this to Michael, “Not getting the weight off properly”, causing him to be weak on the night and Joe stated that Brodie won't make the same mistake twice. “He’s got to get the weight down my way,” declared Pennington. Joe Gallagher, Crolla's trainer, was also quick to jump to the defence of Brodie regarding the Alexander fight. “Mark Alexander is no bum, and the fact no one else has decided to fight him since speaks volumes,” stated Gallagher, who also suggested that people should give Brodie a break considering it was his first fight in four years. “You can't write him [Brodie] off,” continued Gallagher. “Brodie has got to be the favourite. He's been in some epic wars, he's a former world title contender, he defended the European Title loads of times, and he was really unlucky against [Willie] Jorrin and In-Jin Chi [for the WBC super-bantamweight and featherweight titles]. He's one of my favourite fighters, and he's played a huge part in Manchester boxing, sparring with all the kids coming through, like the Murrays for example.” It is wise to pay Brodie this kind of respect, especially after Pennington revealed that Brodie has been sparring Craig Watson, who is a good two stone heavier, and Mike is apparently, “Holding his own, taking shots and firing back,” according to Pennington. Watson is no slouch; it was only in April this year that he lost his Commonwealth welterweight title to John O'Donnell via split decision, so for Brodie to be doing well in sparring against him certainly suggests that he is not past it. Pennington has also tried to cater for the style of Crolla, who is 22-years-old, and has had Brodie sparring Stephen Foster, who will also be featured in Wigan on the 27th of November. By all accounts, all of Brodie's preparations to date are going very well. Anthony Crolla's seem to be going equally well though. “Brodie is a very dedicated trainer,” acknowledged Gallagher, but he was quick to say that Crolla trains just as hard, and that he is ‘learning loads’ in the gym. “I’m not taking this fight for granted and neither is Crolla, because this is not an easy task. Mike is still a handful at world level,” warned Joe. “A win for Crolla wouldn't just put him on the British scene; it would push him onto the European scene.” Gallagher trains the likes of Matthew Macklin, who recently stopped Amin Asikainen in the very first round to claim the EBU European Middleweight crown, and John Murray, the British lightweight champion; and he is confident that Crolla can also become a champion. Gallagher told me that ‘Million Dollar’ is a, “Champion in waiting”, and that, “it isn't a matter of if, it's when Crolla will raise a title, whether that's the British, the European or English title.” One thing that annoys the Mancunian trainer, though, is the fact that this fight in particular isn't being contested for any kind of belt. “This is certainly worthy of an eliminator,” declared Gallagher. “By contesting this over eight-rounds you are only denying the public 2 to 4 rounds of great boxing. After all, these are prize fighters; the idea is fighting for a prize. The reward must be worth the risk, and if you add an eliminator or title into the equation it is.” Consequently, Gallagher has urged Hatton Promotions to find a belt or eliminator to be fought over in this bout, to make it a more worthwhile proposition for both men. Pennington reckons that the ‘experience, power and strength’ of Brodie will see him through. He said that Michael is ‘bull like’ in his strength, and while he concedes Crolla may nick a few of the early rounds, Pennington predicts a late stoppage. To back up his point, he references sparring sessions the pair had a few years back, which Brodie always bossed according to Pennington, and Brodie's trainer even went as far as saying that Crolla has ‘no power’ and is ‘very weak’, despite being a ‘very good amateur’ and ‘very quick’. He continued to state that Brodie would ‘definitely’ emerge victorious, “As long as he doesn't get caught early on”. With regards to Brodie's comeback in general, “Brodie has British and European belts in him,” stated Pennington, which would be quite an achievement given the strength of the super featherweight division right now. Joe Gallagher obviously holds him in the same high regard given his comments on Brodie still being a handful on world level, although he believes that Crolla can pull off what he states would be a 'fantastic achievement'. This fight really does have the potential to be one of the domestic scraps of the year, and if we see a 'more tactical' Michael Brodie, as Joe Pennington suggests we will, who knows what will happen on fight night? This really does have the potential to go either way, and Joe Gallagher's comments about this fight deserving some kind of belt or eliminator are absolutely justified. This is such an important fight in the careers of both men, and on the domestic scene in general, that it is a shame the fight won't be contested for a prize, which the winner would have only been too deserving of. A chance to see how this would play out over a longer distance is also something that the viewers may miss the boat on, although there is still time for Hatton Promotions to negotiate for a belt to be thrown into the mix, as per Gallagher’s suggestion
