Paddy Donovan was disqualified during his fight with Lewis Crocker, leading to a mass brawl at the SSE Arena in Belfast. Eight thousand spectators were present for the all-Irish clash, and Crocker was declared the winner after Donovan was disqualified for landing a punch after the bell had rung.
Donovan believed he had defeated Crocker after knocking him down for the second time at the end of the eighth round, but the referee disqualified him for his late hit. The Limerick-born Donovan broke down in tears as Crocker’s undefeated record continued, while in the stands, several spectators clashed when the referee indicated Donovan’s disqualification.
Despite fighting in his opponent’s home turf, Donovan was the more active of the two in the opening round, using his jab before Crocker retaliated. A right hand to Crocker’s head caused a cut above the Belfast man’s eye in the third round.
In the fourth round, Donovan was warned about leading with the head and given a final warning, but he inflicted damage under Crocker’s other eye with another powerful punch. He was then deducted a point for leading with the head in the sixth.
Another point was deducted from Donovan in the eighth before tempers flared. Crocker was clearly struggling but remained standing until the bell rang, at which point Donovan hit him late.
Eddie Hearn has hinted at a possible rematch as Donovan’s camp gears up to file an appeal with the IBF, following his controversial bout. Now, Crocker has secured his position as the mandatory challenger for the IBF world welterweight title, currently held by the American Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
After the fight, Donovan expressed his frustration to DAZN: “The crowd is ferocious in here. They say I hit him after the bell, but I thought I hit him on the bell,” and asserted, “You can see Lewis was a beaten man and I won the fight fair and square. The ref took my dreams away tonight. We’re going to appeal the decision and I want an automatic rematch right on the spot.”
Meanwhile, on the undercard, Padraig McCrory suffered an eighth-round defeat to Craig Richards due to a powerful body shot, while Kurt Walker maintained his unbeaten streak, now 12-0, after securing a majority decision victory over Leon Woodstock. In another bout, Steven Ward emerged victorious in the all-Belfast encounter, stopping Tommy McCarthy in the sixth round.
This article originally appeared on Mirror
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