MANNHEIM, Germany – Paddy Donovan said his two-knockdown 12-round decision win over Karen Chukhadzhian was the best victory of his career to date.
Donovan won a good fight on the cards at the SAP Arena and was ecstatic post-fight.
Speaking to BoxingScene in his dressing room post-fight, Donovan
“It’s not easy,” Donovan said. “Chukhadzhian is very very tough, he’s got great heart, great engine, just kept coming forward and I had to show a bit of everything, a bit of maturity, boxing skill, punching power, fighting the inside, boxing on the outside, under the pressure coming to Germany, it shows a complete fighter, I think that’s my best win today.”
Donovan dropped his opponent in rounds six and eight, and Chukhadzhian kept coming at the Irishman until the end of the fight.
Promoter Eddie Hearn did not think that Donovan needed to trade as much in the later rounds.
“Obviously you’d want to keep it clean and keep the boxing going but I just said to Andy that he’s coming on and maybe it’s best I sit in the pocket a bit maybe because I knew I was comfortable inside,” Donovan added. “I can fight on the inside and yeah, I did that, I stood with him. We had a little bit of a punchout but I knew the work was done with the knockdowns and I think the first ten rounds of the fight it was in the bag. So last two was maybe a little bit of a test of the engine and just test of the heart and that’s exactly what we did.”
Trainer Andy Lee heralded it as the greatest win of any of his fighters during his time as coach, and that was high praise indeed.
“That means so much to me,” said Donovan, who has been with Lee since the start of his pro career.
“Chukhadzhian is a world class fighter, don’t be under any illusions and think that he’s not. He is. So to land in Germany and fight a home fighter is a tough task alone. A lot of people ripped me off at home, a lot of the boxing world said I wasn’t gonna get this win but I believed, I trusted, trusted the game plan, I trusted Andy, trusted my dad, trusted Adam [Hennessy, his strength and conditioning coach] and I came and I got the win.”
But even Donovan, while he thought he’d done enough, admitted he was concerned when the second scorecard, a mind-boggling draw, was read out.
After two controversial fights with Irish rival Lewis Crocker, Donovan braced himself.
“I just felt like after everything I’ve given to boxing, the boxing gods couldn’t be this cruel to me,” he said.
“I feel like if that was to happen tonight I just feel like it would be a long way back for me. I think more mentally than anything. I think I’m an extremely strong person in general. I’ve seen hardship, I’ve faced it, like many people. I’ve faced the ups and downs but I think if that was to happen tonight it would be a really really tough road back. I just really couldn’t see how I come back to be honest. But the most important thing is the gods of boxing was good and they granted me the win and I'm very very thankful to them.”
Donovan couldn’t recall what led to the knockdowns in his dressing room afterwards, only seeing Chukhadzhian climbing off the canvas, but he won’t be looking back for long.
The bout served as an eliminator for the IBF title, set to be contested by Crocker and Liam Paro in Australia in the summer. But promoter Eddie Hearn mentioned the likes of Devin Haney as possible opponents, and Donovan also fielded questions about a fight with Conor Benn.
The significant victory keeps a lot of doors open for the man from Limerick, who moved to 15-2.
“Let’s bring them on, if they want to fight I’ll fight, there’s no problem,” Donovan said.
“Eddie can make it happen, if they want to fight I’ll fight any single fighter, any of the big names Haney, [Ryan] Garcia, Benn, [Roly] Romero, anyone. I’ll fight them all. It doesn't matter to me. I’ll land in their back gardens like I've done 16 out of 17 contests, I’ll do it again no problem.”
But does he feel he has unfinished business specifically with Crocker?
“Of course, it’s the biggest fight in Irish boxing history and it’s demanded by the Irish fans and everybody in the land of Ireland wants to see this fight for the third time,” Donovan said. “So if Lewis is down, let’s make it happen.”
Donovan has kept up his end. On June 24, Crocker must do the same against Paro.
