BELFAST – After Lewis Crocker’s shock split-decision win over Paddy Donovan here at Windsor Park, his promoter Eddie Hearn started outlining what the future of the new IBF welterweight champion might look like.
“It was an unbelievable night for Windsor Park,” said Hearn. “I mean, just a whole night full of drama. [It was] a very closely fought contest in the main event, and Belfast has a new world champion in Lewis Crocker – 147-pound IBF world champion, Lewis Crocker.”
Hearn said a trilogy fight with Limerick’s Donovan was unlikely. Crocker, despite winning well under half of the 20 rounds they have fought together, is 2-0 in their series.
“The IBF do a great job and they are quite forceful with their mandatories, so, you get your voluntary, and then, unless you have a unification, it’s quite likely that you have to face a mandatory, and you want to make that first defence count,” Hearn said. “So, we’ll speak to [Crocker’s manager] Jamie [Conlan] and the team, but this is the opportunity to secure your future, financially, forever.
“I mean, tonight was a nice payday, last one was a decent payday, and then, the plan now is to make sure that you can buy your house, and you can have a great life, and if you win, it’s just a game of snakes and ladders, boxing. But, not just Conor Benn [is a possible future opponent], but Devin Haney, unification, if he beats Brian Norman, [Rolando] ‘Rolly’ Romero, unification, Teofimo Lopez, I mean, these are the names that… they’ve never had a fight like that in Belfast, those kind of names coming into Belfast, but, obviously, with Lewis and Conor being part of the Matchroom team, it’s an easy fight to make.”
Many felt Donovan deserved to win the fight. He was down twice, but won more rounds. BoxingScene, from ringside, had it 114-113 for Donovan.
“[It was] really difficult to score, I gave Lewis Crocker the second round, I think the sixth round, and the 12th round,” said Hearn. “And the two 10-8 rounds, so that’s two 10-8s, plus three rounds, which is 114-113 to Lewis Crocker, but the 12th round could have gone either way, the second round was a very tight round, and there was other rounds that were tight rounds. Donovan did win a lot of rounds, but after the two knockdowns, it’s a really tough fight to win from there. And I think Lewis would agree, if he lost by a point, he certainly wouldn’t be saying, ‘This is a joke’, he would say, ‘Thought I nicked it, but I understand, it can go either way’. So a point either way, but I can see the 114-113 card as well, and maybe I can see Paddy Donovan by a point. It’s just a lot of those rounds, not a lot happened.
“If you like the more eye-catching shots, they come from Lewis Crocker. Paddy boxed really well, he's a great fighter, but to be honest, when I got in the ring [after the fight], I had absolutely no idea [who had won].”
Asked whether there could be a third fight between the pair, Hearn then said: “If Paddy wins tonight, he’s looking for the big fights, and the most lucrative opportunities, and the rematch is a big fight, a trilogy, but it’s not as big as some of the other opportunities out there, being honest. I think Paddy will get his shot again, and we will make sure we give him a big fight, and he’s a quality fighter.”
Hearn, however, was full of praise for the winner, too.
“This is a really, really big win,” the Matchroom promoter added. “This is an established belt in a red-hot division at the moment, and I think it’s going to get really exciting from here.”
