Anthony Crolla has admitted that he can have no complaints following his defeat to Jorge Linares on Saturday evening, having "lost to the better man".
The 30-year-old was unable to feed off his home crowd at the Manchester Arena, going down to a unanimous points decision in the WBA lightweight title rematch bout.
Crolla is already targeting his next high-profile fight, however, hinting that he is open to fighting Stateside after seeing his profile rise in another real battle with classy opponent Linares.
"I'm gutted by the defeat," he told Sky Sports News. "I'd put so much hard work into the camp and to not get the result I wanted is hard to take but I've got no excuses whatsoever. I lost to the better man and Jorge Linares put in a great performance. I made some improvements from the first fight - which I took into the second fight - but he raised it to a whole new level.
"I believe I will improve and come back better from this. I have come back from worse things before. The fight was screened live on Sky Sports but also over in America on Showtime so my profile has risen. I gave it my all and I think they were impressed with what they saw even though I didn't get the result I wanted.
"I think there are still plenty if options out there for me. I just want to be involved in the big fights again. I will have a little break, lick my wounds and hopefully have another attack on a world title, whichever route that may be."
Next up for title holder Linares will likely be a Las Vegas bout with WBC champion Mikey Garcia later this year.
Daniel Lewis
