Lewis Crocker was crowned the IBF welterweight champion after defeating Paddy Donovan by split decision in the first ever all-Irish world title fight in front of 20,000 people in Belfast’s Windsor Park on Saturday night.
“The Croc” maintained his unbeaten status, improving to 22-0, while Donovan slipped to 15-2, with both losses coming to the Belfast man.
The bout was a re-run of their first fight in March, where Donovan had appeared to be dominating matters but was disqualified for flooring Crocker after the bell sounded to end the eighth round.
With Donovan also being docked two points during that contest for headbutting, there was plenty of controversy heading into Saturday’s rematch, and the prize of the vacant IBF title only added to the stakes.
RM Block
A big pre-fight favourite, Donovan came out on the front foot stalking his opponent, a pattern that continued throughout much of the contest.
There was very little action in the opening round and the raucous crowd grew impatient as the action continued at a slow pace in the second, with the southpaw Donovan attempting to set up an opening for his left.
Crocker was alive to the danger and countered with a strong right hand of his own, drawing the first big cheer from his home stadium.
In the third, Crocker’s crowd were again buoyed, this time as he knocked Donovan with a counter left hook despite protests from the Limerick fighter that he had simply slipped.
The round ended with Donovan trying to stamp his authority on the contest, pushing Crocker to the corner and landing to the body.
The action developed further in the fourth round as Donovan appeared to have his man hurt after an exchange of blows only for Crocker to land a heavy left hook of his own just after.
The critical moment of the fight happened just before the bell for the end of the fifth round, as Donovan walked onto another counter left hook and was floored, paying the price for his low leading right hand.
Crocker threw the shot with full power and had Donovan badly hurt, but the bell saved him.
The sixth round saw a return to the cautious pace that the bout had opened with, as Donovan was wary of Crocker’s power.
The seventh provided more of the same with the Limerick man not keen to step into close range, but boxing tidily on the outside.
The rounds after the knock-down in the fifth were cagey and hard to judge, as Donovan prodded at Crocker with his jab and the orthodox fighter responded with counter punches.
Donovan absorbed an excellent left hook in the ninth, responding with a body shot and then pushing forward to score with more shots at the end of the round.
“The Real Deal” was again the busier fighter in the 10th, landing on Crocker with his jab, who responded well with a couple of shots that knocked back Donovan’s head.
The 11th proved a fine round for the southpaw, as he forced Crocker backwards and scored jabs and body shots, setting up a tense finale in the 12th.
It was another close affair in the final round and both men were held aloft by their coaches at the final bell, claiming the victory.
Although one judge gave it to Donovan, the other two awarded the decision to the pre-fight underdog, who claimed the vacant IBF title with the victory.
With fights against the likes of Conor Benn, Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney being mentioned by promoter Eddie Hearn in the build-up, it was Benn – son of former middleweight champion Nigel Benn – who Crocker called out in the post-fight interview.
In the co-main event, Caoimhín Agyarko won his step-up fight against England’s Ishmael Davis by split decision.
The junior middleweight from Belfast fought through massive swelling on his right eye and was knocked down in the final round, but still clinched a crucial win to maintain his unbeaten record which now stands at 18-0.
It was the third straight defeat for Davis, but both previous losses had come after he was called in as a late replacement against top-class opposition.
Before that, 35-year-old Belfast welterweight Tyrone McKenna (25-6-1) beat Waterford’s Dylan Moran (19-4) for the second time in a year, this time by a seventh-round knockout.
