By Keith Idec

Anthony Crolla is aware of the obstacles he’ll encounter Friday night more than anyone.

The former WBA world lightweight champion recognizes that Vasiliy Lomachenko is much more skillful and athletic than him. England’s Crolla still feels he can compete with the three-division champion in a 12-round, 135-pound championship match that has routinely been blasted by fans and media as a useless mandatory mismatch.

The hardworking, humble Crolla can’t wait to try to prove people wrong in a main event ESPN+ will stream from Staples Center in Los Angeles.

“I’m not the most talented,” Crolla told ESPN.com. “But what I don’t have in talent, I make up for in hard work. I’m certainly one of those fighters who work for their success. You also need a bit of luck.”

The 32-year-old Crolla (34-6-3, 13 KOs) has won three unanimous decisions since suffering a lopsided points loss to Jorge Linares in their immediate rematch in March 2017.

That three-fight winning streak, which includes a convincing victory over Ricky Burns, and some intervention from a shaky sanctioning organization guaranteed Crolla a title shot. Though thankful, Crolla understands the skepticism among fans that don’t consider him a legitimate threat to Lomachenko, a 100-1 favorite who knocked out Linares with a body shot in the 10th round last May 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“I’m fighting one of the best fighters on the planet,” Crolla said. “If you said what [will happen Friday] after I lost the second fight to Linares, not many people would have taken you seriously.”

Just don’t expect an apology after all Crolla has experienced both inside and outside the ring.

“I’ve been boxing at the world-class level for a number of years,” said Crolla, who resumed his career after suffering skull and ankle injuries during an altercation with burglars in his native Manchester in December 2014. “Since losing to Linares, I’ve had two wins over world-class opponents, former world champion Ricky Burns and former world title challenger Daud Yordan. And if you are around at that level for long enough, big fights can happen.

“To be fighting the best fighter on the planet, it shows that if you keep working hard, it does pay off. I’ve had defeats in my career, but I’ve come back, and now I’ve got the biggest task of all.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.