BELFAST – Carl Frampton has tipped Lewis Crocker to follow in his footsteps as the next big draw in Belfast.

Frampton regularly packed-out venues, including the SSE Arena in the Northern Irish capital, where some 9,000 fans will watch Crocker face Limerick rival Paddy Donovan on Saturday.

Frampton, however, will not be ringside because he is working the TNT Sports event in Bournemouth on the same night, but he will be keenly following the action. 

“I think Paddy Donovan’s an amazing fighter, I really do,” said Frampton. “I think he’s class, but I also think Lewis Crocker is as well, and I think how I see the fight going, I think Paddy may win the first half, he may be in front at the halfway stage because he’s very slick and he moves really well, very accurate with his shots. 

“[But] I think he fades a little bit in the second half. I’ve seen him box in the Ulster Hall – and I know he only had four weeks’ notice, which isn’t really sufficient for a proper camp, so it may have been because of that, not a long enough camp – but he’s had plenty of notice for this camp and he should be fitter.”

In the build-up, much has been made about who the puncher is in the fight, with Crocker’s team claiming he has the heavier hands but Donovan’s backers believing it is their man. 

His coach Andy Lee believes he sees something special in Donovan, while Crocker’s trainer Billy Nelson believes ”The Crock” has too much for Donovan. 

“Whatever you think of Lewis Crocker, one thing he’s got is a massive engine, he can punch hard, as can Donovan, but he’s got this huge engine, a never say die attitude, and he punches really well in combinations,” Frampton added. “His output is going to be a lot higher than Paddy Donovan, and for me that’s going to be the difference. 

“I’ve a lot of respect for Paddy and Andy Lee, I think Andy Lee’s a terrific coach, and I think the coaches are going to play an important part in this fight, both Billy Nelson and Andy Lee. But I just see Lewis winning down the stretch, potentially forcing a late stoppage, because of his output and his workrate. And I hope that he wins because I’d love to see these big fights coming back to Belfast and I think Lewis is someone the Belfast boxing public can get behind. 

“Interestingly enough, I’ve just spoken to the guys at the IFA [Irish Football Association], and they want to do more outdoor things at Windsor Park. So the only other things they’ve done at Windsor Park other than football is my fight, which was a number of years ago against Luke Jackson, and they’ve asked me if there’s anyone coming through that could potentially fill it, and I said to them, depending on what happens this weekend, Lewis Crocker could be the man that the people of Belfast, Northern Ireland, Ireland, get behind and you can put 15-20,000 people in a stadium for him, depending on the opponent. If Matchroom continue to put on these sort of bills that are well matched, then he could be the kid that does it.”