ANTHONY CROLLA will take in a passionate and supportive Manchester crowd on Saturday as he has a shot of redemption against Jorge Linares.
The fight is his biggest yet of an up-and-down career that has seen him collect an army of fans along the way.
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In October last year Crolla fell to a unanimous points defeat to the ferocious Linares, 115-114, 117-111, 115-113 to lose his WBA lightweight title.
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But now Crolla has the chance to wrong that right, but it will certainly not be easy.
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Crolla has become known as one of the "nicest men in boxing," quite a tagline considering the brutal force he has shown in the ring since turning professional back in 2006.
Here, SunSport takes a look at seven things you might not know about Crolla, that may explain why he is Mr Nice Guy, and scroll down to vote on whether YOU think he can win on Saturday...
He lost a nailed-on fight early on
Crolla was pitched in for what was supposed to be a routine ninth fight on an Amir Khan undercard.
His opponent on September 26, 2008 was Youssef Al Hamidi, who was, at best, there to take Crolla out of his comfort zone.
Crolla had won all of his previous eight bouts, four by way of KO. You know what's coming...
The judges awarded the fight to Al Hamidi, who had gone into the contest with three wins, eight defeats, and a draw.
But Crolla acknowledged he "shouldn't have been in the ring" that night. Instead of sulking, he took it on the chin, forgive the pun, got his head down and made it to where he is today.
Al Hamidi's current record stands at 13 wins, 94 defeats and three draws.
Don't mention Gary Sykes
In any sport, sometimes there is that one opponent or team that prove to be your nemesis.
For Crolla, that is Gary Sykes.
In May 2009, Crolla lost to Sykes on the undercard of Lee Selby's only career defeat to this day.
It was a points defeat, but once again Crolla paid tribute to his opponent, promised to get his head down, and moved on.
Another ten victories followed before Crolla was stopped in the sixth round of a British title fight against Derry Matthews (see next point).
A reunion with Sykes was just around the corner, and in October 2012, the pair met once again in the Prizefighter tournament in Liverpool.
And in scenes that would devastate most boxers desperate to avenge a defeat, Crolla lost on a split decision.
It's been some journey since...
From British to the world
Who would have thought that when Crolla was beaten, and not just beaten but outfought and out-thought by gritty Liverpudlian Derry Matthews, to lose his British title in April 2012 that he could ever get to world level.
Clearly one man did, and proved by determination and a desire to work hard for the riches at the top, Crolla has made it to where he is today.
On that hard-to-stomach night at the Oldham Sports Centre, Crolla was floored in the third round, and with just four seconds left in the sixth, the referee waved the fight off.
The two fought once again for the then-vacant Commonwealth belt in March 2013, but there was more disappointment for Crolla when the scorecards read a draw.
Far from labour on again being frustrated by one man, Crolla moved to world level.
World title despair to delight
Darleys Perez was Crolla's opposition for his first shot at a world title following a seven-fight undefeated run that included a stunning TKO win against fellow Brit John Murray.
Hopes were high that Crolla would finally announce himself on the world stage in his home town of Manchester.
But at the end of a gruelling fight, the crowd erupted into boos as the judges had marked it a draw - despite Perez having two points deducted and Crolla looking a sure-fire bet to win the belt.
White admitting he was "bitterly disappointed" with the result, Crolla once again showed his likeability factor ringside after the announcement.
"I had to dig deep and do the crowd proud. I will only come back stronger.
"When this opportunity came I was never going to give it up. But I promise everyone that I will win the world title."
And he did just that, stopping Perez in the fifth round of their rematch and becoming a world champion.
What's with the "Million dolla Crolla" nickname?
If you didn't know Anthony, you might think the nickname is showing off of wealth, or exaggerating his boxing talents.
It is however a nickname chosen in reference to the Clint Eastwood movie Million Dollar Baby, which he says is his favourite film.
Tale of the tape: Crolla vs Linares
Anthony Crolla Fights - 39 Won - 31 (13 KOs) Lost - 5 Drew - 3 Jorge Linares Fights - 44 Won - 41 (27 KOs) Lost - 3
The day he almost died
While preparing for a world title against Richard Abril in December 2014, Crolla was attacked near to his home in Oldham after disturbing burglars.
Of course, living up to his "nice guy" tagline, they were actually focussing their attention on a neighbour's home.
Stepping in to try and protect others, Crolla suffered a broken ankle and serious head injuries when the criminals attacked him with a slab of concrete.
Crolla's trainer Joe Gallagher spoke to the media and confirmed that his fighter "could have died" during the despicable assault.
Yet he showed his fighting spirit, outside of the ring this time, to get to the elite level in the sport he loves after his brush with death.
Avenging a fellow Brit's defeat
The British public were desperate for chirpy Kevin Mitchell to finally get his hands on a world title.
His opponent was Ismael Barroso. And it once again ended in tears for Mitchell after a fifth-round stoppage defeat.
Just five months later, Crolla decided to accept a fight with the clearly dangerous Barroso, going into the fight as the underdog.
But he triumphed with a seventh-round stoppage to retain the belt he had won for defeating Darleys Perez.
Speaking ringside after the victory, Crolla told the media that "no-one was coming into his house to steal what he had got."
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