After thrilling the domestic boxing audience last spring in a titanic six round struggle, Liverpool’s Derry Mathews and Manchester rival, Anthony Crolla, put it all on the line again as they battle it out for the vacant Commonwealth lightweight title on March 30th at Liverpool’s Echo Arena. Mathews’ promoter, Dave Coldwell was ringside for the first epic between the pair and he has no doubt that the second instalment will be as equally as dramatic.

“Mathews v Crolla is such a terrific fight because both fighters are cut from the same cloth,” buzzed an excited Coldwell. “This has all the ingredients to be the best fight of 2013 because both have a point to prove. Derry wants to show everyone the first result wasn’t a fluke and Crolla will be desperate to set the record straight. On top of that, you’ve got the Liverpool/Manchester rivalry and then you’ve also got both fighters’ styles. Neither one of these fighters ever wants to take a backward step so I think it’s pretty safe to say that this fight is going to be another classic.”

Providing chief support to Tony Bellew’s WBC title eliminator against a yet to be confirmed opponent, the highly-anticipated rematch between the Northwest warriors has been almost twelve months in the making as both boxers have faced numerous obstacles on contrasting paths. A Prizefighter duel back in October seemed a possibility but failed to materialise as both made their exits at the semi-final stage. Mathews inked a deal with Coldwell Boxing shortly after and their head man is hoping that Commonwealth glory is just the beginning for the Merseyside entertainer.

“I’m over the moon to be working with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom on such a massive show and it’s just as pleasing to be involved in a fight such as Mathews/Crolla. Myself and Derry have sat down plenty of times and discussed many title opportunities but he was always adamant that a rematch with Crolla must take place. Derry’s all about entertaining the fans and he only ever wants to be in fights that are going to get the boxing people talking. The Commonwealth title will open a lot more doors for Derry so it’s very important that he goes in there and does a good job against Crolla. Derry’s had many good years in boxing but I’m confident that 2013 could be his best yet.”