BELFAST – Paddy Donovan couldn’t hide the emotion in the ring last night having burst in to tears when disqualified while ahead and preparing to apply the finishing touches to Irish rival Lewis Crocker.

And he could not mask them in the dressing room after the fight, either. He spoke to reporters and occasionally broke down along the way, knowing he had lost his unbeaten record and a world title fight courtesy of, ultimately, one of the best punches he has ever thrown but one that connected milli-seconds after the bell to end the eighth round. With two-point deductions already attached to his scorecard, Donovan was thrown out by referee Marcus McDonnell, prompting scenes of bedlam in Belfast, with fights in the crowd, drinks being tossed and prolonged feelings of ‘what just happened’ until formal announcements were made.

Donovan, who had also dropped Crocker moments before the climactic finish, was not angry, he was heartbroken.

“I am the better man,” he whispered to himself.

Then, reflecting on the moment he realized he had lost via a marginal call rather than won in devastating fashion, he said: “The ref came to me straight away and said I’m disqualified. Obviously it takes a few moments for the emotions to kick in, which they did, and as Andy said, the referee was a disgrace. He didn’t do his job. The crowd was hectic. I was in to finish Lewis, I’d just dropped him a few seconds beforehand, I went in to do a job as a fighter and I was in the combination and, as the bell went, I landed a shot and knocked Lewis down again. You could see by his corner he was ready to throw in towel. I may have lost by the ref, but I think I’m the people’s champion. Deep down inside I think the people know I’m the real champ.”

Donovan instantly thirsted for revenge. 

Crocker was stitched up below his left eye, a wound that was caused by a flailing Donovan elbow, and left the venue without talking to the media.

“Doesn’t matter where, I’ll do it again, anywhere. Give me the opportunity and I’ll beat Lewis again,” said Donovan.

“I’m confident I know how good I am. It’s very emotional because you work so hard for these sort of things, and when I dropped Lewis for the first time, I said, ‘Now I’m going to be challenger for the world title.’ Then it changed just like that. But I’ll be back. It just took a switch. After he took the point, I turned it up. I hurt Lewis straightaway and I went for the finish.”

Both had been guilty of coming in head-first but it was Donovan who was warned, Crocker who ‘showed out’ and who repeatedly came off worst.

“It’s a fight, the two of us collided heads many times. I didn’t complain, I got on with my job,” said Donovan. “He had the ref on his side from the get-go and he used it to his advantage. Ireland knows I’m one of the best welterweights on the planet. Things have changed. I was seconds away from challenging for a world title. Now I just want to run it back with Lewis and do the same job again.”

Donovan managed to block out the boos of a partisan Crocker crowd by focusing on the cheers he received from his fans and said he had enjoyed every moment of the night until the end.

Afterward, Crocker and Donovan spoke in the ring and Donovan was asked what Crocker had told him.

“He was saying that I was levels above and he didn’t know how good I was and his coach Billy [Nelson] said exactly the same thing,” Donovan said. “I was a lot better than Lewis, they know how good I am. I just feel like I was hard done by.

“After six or seven [rounds], [coach] Andy [Lee] said, ‘Let’s get the knockout’, and that’s what we were going to do. I felt him groan [when he hurt Crocker to the body in the fight] and I was only going to get better [as the fight went on] if I got my opportunity. He was looking for a way out. He knew his time was coming.”

Asked what he felt of his performance, one that showed his ceiling is far beyond domestic level, Donovan said: “It’s just who I am. I know how good I am, I know what I can do. I can make anyone look very ordinary. It’s just my style of fighting. The team I have around me is the best in the world. I work so hard. I can make anyone look ordinary.”