Crolla made his professional debut on 14 October 2006 when he scored a points win over Abdul Rashid at the MEN Arena in Manchester.

On 5 April however, in his third fight of the year so far, Crolla lost his unbeaten record to Syrian Youssef Al Hamidi at the Bolton Arena, losing on points over 8 rounds.

[2] Crolla begun 2009 on 14 March with a repeat victory over former opponent Carl Allen and then on 29 May took part in his most significant bout to date, a British title eliminator at the Fenton Manor Sports Complex in Stoke.

The fight resulted in a second career defeat for Crolla as he lost a ten-round points decision to Gary Sykes.

[2][4] He continued his winning run in 2010 with victories over Jason Nesbitt, Sid Razak and Chris Riley before on 2 October challenging Andy Morris for the English super featherweight title.

The fight at the De Vere Whites hotel in Bolton resulted in a 7th round stoppage for Crolla and a first career title.

[2][5] Crolla stepped up a weight division when on 12 February 2011 he challenged John Watson for the vacant British lightweight title.

"[7] On 16 March, Crolla vs. Gavin Rees was added to the Amir Khan-Paul McCloskey WBA title fight undercard on 16 April at the MEN Arena in Manchester.

[9] On 21 April 2012, Crolla lost his British lightweight title to 28-year-old Liverpudlian Derry Matthews at the Oldham Sports Centre.

[13] Crolla reached the semi-final stage, losing a very close points decision that could have gone either way to Gary Sykes.

[22] Crolla was scheduled to make his first defence of the title on the undercard of Carl Froch vs. George Groves at the Phones 4u Arena in Manchester against former WBU and European super featherweight champion Stephen Foster Jr. (31-4-1, 18 KO) on 23 November 2013.

[25][26] Crolla made his third and final defence on 13 September against Mexican boxer Gamaliel Díaz at the Phones 4u Arena.

Promoter Eddie Hearn later went on to say, "I'll speak to the doctor because if the fighter chooses not to continue then I don't believe it's a technical draw.

[32] Derry Matthews was picked to replace Crolla, but instead fought Tony Luis, who took the fight on four days notice, winning the interim WBA lightweight title.

In the post fight, Crolla told Sky Sports, "I'm bitterly disappointed I've not got the world title take to home with me.

"[38][39][40] On 11 March 2016, Sky Sports announced that Crolla would make his first defence of his WBA lightweight title against mandatory challenger Ismael Barroso (19-0-2, 18 KOs) at the Manchester Arena on 7 May.

At the time, Crolla was also offered £500,000 to fight the winner of WBO champion Terry Flanagan vs. Derry Matthews, which was taking place on 12 March.

[44][45] On 15 June, it was announced on Sky Sports that a deal had been made for Crolla to fight WBC 'Diamond' champion Jorge Linares (40–3.

At the end of round 11, Crolla's trainer Joe Gallagher came into the ring and walked towards referee Howard John Foster, possibly to stop the fight.

[58][59] In the post-fight interview, he thanked his promoter Oscar De Le Hoya for making the trip and watching him ringside and said his next move would be a big pay day in Las Vegas against WBC lightweight champion Mikey Garcia.

[61][62] On 7 July 2017, STV news reported there was talks between Crolla and Ricky Burns (41-6-1, 14 KOs) about a potential all-British fight towards the end of 2017.

[66][67] On 7 August 2017, it was confirmed by Eddie Hearn that a deal had been reached between Crolla and Burns for a fight to take place at lightweight on 7 October, live on Sky Sports.

Burns made Crolla miss a lot with his movement and looked to land cleaner and accurate punches.

[77][78] In August 2018, according to trainer Joe Gallagher, Vasiliy Lomachenko was interested in a possible fight with Crolla in the UK.

[79] On 17 September, it was reported that Crolla would return to the Manchester Arena on 10 November on the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tony Bellew undercard.

[80] On 24 September, the fight was confirmed by Hearn and was likely to be a final eliminator for the WBA lightweight title, at the time, held by Lomachenko.

Top Rank intended to finalize the deal with promoter Lou DiBella, which would see Commey vs. Chaniev take place on 2 February 2019 at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas.

[89] On 20 February it was announced that Lomachenko would defend his WBA (Super), WBO and The Ring titles against Crolla at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on 12 April 2019.

After what looked to be a 3 to 4 second count by Reiss, the fight was waved off, giving Lomachenko the win and retaining his sanctioned belts.

Co headlining the bill at the 21,000 capacity arena will be Irish sensation Katie Taylor who is stepping up to super-lightweight to fight Greece's WBO title-holder Christina Linardatou after unifying the women's lightweight division.