BELFAST – Promoter Eddie Hearn is expecting a wild night on Saturday when Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan have a rematch of their controversial March fight.
Some 20,000 fans are expected in Windsor Park stadium, although the weather forecast is not kind, and after his performance last time – before he was disqualified – Donovan will start as a heavy favorite.
“Neither guy will ever experience what they’re about to experience Saturday,” said Matchroom’s Hearn. “It’s going to be fucking mental. I mean, we’re about to hit 18,000, right? We sold 400 tickets at the weekend. We sold 270 tickets on Monday, 230 tickets on Tuesday, Wednesday, or something like that. We're selling, like, 200, 300 a day now, building up. We could get to 20,000, which would be fucking wild. And it will be wild. And it will be fucking mental. But what a night.”
Hearn, however, knows Crocker will have to change things in order to make the fight more competitive this time.
“Well, he has to do something different,” he admitted. “I actually think it will be a much better fight this time, because I thought he was massively under par in his last performance.
“I find it fascinating, the body language this time. I think Crocker’s really trying to keep himself low-key, like, you know, ‘No pressure on me, just going to go out there, I can’t win. Paddy Donovan was amazing last time, he was beating me easy.’ And Paddy’s just turned into this monster. He’s braided his hair, and he’s really embracing his personality, which might be a good or a bad thing – I don’t know. But Crocker’s got to let his hands go. He’s a very, very big puncher, and if you’re not prepared to sit there and take chances, you’re not going to beat Paddy Donovan, because Paddy Donovan’s a master boxer and you can’t just stand in front of him with your guard up, following him around the ring. You’ve got to take chances, and in my opinion, he’s got to take chances early in this fight, because once you let Paddy get in his rhythm, he’s very hard to beat.”
Hearn is also excited about where the winner might go. Everyone knows that Crocker could turn Belfast into a Carl Frampton-like fortress, but there would be big fights on offer around the globe for either once the winner has the IBF strap wrapped around his waist.
“I think one of the things that’s not being talked about as much, or as much as it should be, is what is at stake for the winner here,” Hearn said. “It’s not just the first all-Irish [world title] fight. The winner’s going to be world welterweight champion. It’s not like, with all due respect, the IBO, or something like that. It’s a proper, established world championship at probably one of the most respected and famous weight classes in the sport. It’s going to open you up to a fight with Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, Conor Benn, Teofimo Lopez and a multi-million-pound payday, do you know what I mean?”
And although Donovan was winning last time, the level of his performance away from the costly infractions did not surprise Hearn.
“I know how good he is,” said Hearn. “I respect Andy Lee so much, and he’s always hammered on about how good Paddy Donovan is. And it was a mixture of Paddy being excellent and Lewis, I think, underperforming in that first fight as well. He’s got to switch it up here. The game plan last time just didn’t look like it was really anything up to expectations. But Paddy is a quality fighter, and I think you have to see him as a favorite going in because of the first fight. But I actually think Crocker's very live and dangerous in this fight.
“I think he has the skills and the ability to compete with all of those top fighters at 147.”
And although Hearn has rightly noted Donovan’s swagger this time, Crocker has been quiet and introspective. He has allowed the Limerick man to do much of the talking.
“I think Crocker’s maybe playing possum a bit here,” Hearn assessed. “I think so. I like what I'm seeing from Crocker.
“Some people on the outside, you know, you read the comments and it’s like, ‘Oh, he looks really nervous,’ ‘He doesn’t look interested.’ Trust me, he’s interested. He has had a monster training camp for this fight. All of a sudden, he’s staying at home and just going to the gym. Like, do you know what I mean? And I think fighting at home actually takes, especially for the first time in a big fight, takes it out of you. And that was really what happened to Crocker last time. That fight was massive last time. And I fully expect him to be so much better this time around.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
