Lewis Crocker (21-0, 11 KOs) became the mandatory for IBF welterweight world champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis after winning due to Irish rival Paddy Donovan (14-1, 11 KOs) being disqualified Saturday night at SSE Arena in Belfast.
Paddy Donovan hits Lewis Crocker after the bell and is DISQUALIFIED!!! #CrockerDonovan pic.twitter.com/wUouP4ITYW
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) March 1, 2025
Round one began with Crocker coming forward with a high card, but it took nearly a minute to throw a punch, which missed widely. Donovan worked behind his southpaw jab with little resistance, landing a telling left hand midway through the round.
Crocker took a similar approach in the second but let his hands go a little more attempting to find a home for the right uppercut, catching Donovan as he pulled away with his chin in the air. However, Donovan controlled much of the round with a much more persistent work rate.
The third round saw Donovan draw blood from Crocker as he peppered away with a right-hand jab and left to the body. Donovan mixed his shots well as the round closed, landing a combination to the head.
A similar theme continued into the fourth, with Crocker refusing to lower his guard. Donovan landed a nice right hook halfway through the round as the more confident fighter of the two. The round ended with Donovan continuing to find his rhythm, landing a precise jab.
Donovan landed a good left hand to the body a minute into round five, following up with a swooping left 20 seconds later. Crocker would land his own right hand to the body, but a deep swelling below his left eye was a testament to the amount of shots Donovan was landing.
The official cards at the time of the stoppage 👀 #CrockerDonovan pic.twitter.com/nacOHI3IEe
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) March 1, 2025
Donovan maintained the better movement going into round six and landed a good double jab from body to head. Donovan started to walk Crocker down as the final minute approached but was deducted a point for the use of the elbow during another dominant round from the Limerick man.
There was another clash of the heads in round seven, which Crocker contested, but the referee saw no deliberate use. Donovan continued to dominate, landing eye catching combinations as Crocker’s attempts of attack were missing the target.
Donovan was deducted another point for use of the head in round eight, which appeared harsh, but it wouldn’t be long until Crocker hit the canvas. With less than 25 seconds on the clock, Donovan landed a rapid right-handed uppercut followed by a glaring right hook-left uppercut combination, sending Crocker to the floor. Donovan pounced on the struggling Crocker as the round ended but landed a right hook, flooring Crocker after the bell sounded. As Donovan started to celebrate a knockout victory, referee Marcus McDonnell disqualified him for punching after the bell.
“The ref took my dreams AWAY tonight”
🎙 @PaddyDonovan23 #CrockerDonovan pic.twitter.com/4b1jPllDEC
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) March 1, 2025
Donovan was in tears as he heard his fate. His promoter, Eddie Hearn, has called for a rematch this summer. “You never want a fight to finish like that,” Hearn said in a DAZN post-fight interview. “The fight was a good fight. Paddy Donovan was controlling the fight, and the points [being deducted] made it interesting. Crocker had to force the fight for the last few rounds. Paddy was sensational, but the shot was after the bell. Did it warrant an instant disqualification? Are you tallying up the headbutts as well during the fight? For me, to be honest with you, I want to see it again.”
Undercard Results
London light heavyweight Craig Richards (19-4-1, 12 KOs) returned to winning ways with an 8th-round knockout against local man Padraig McCrory (19-2, 9 KOs). In a back-and-forth contest, Richards finished McCrory with a left hand to the body.
At featherweight, Lisburn’s Kurt Walker (12-0, 2 KOs) sneaked a majority-decision win against Leon Woodstock (16-4, 7 KOs). The judges scored the bout: 95-95, 96-94 and 97-93.
In another all-Belfast contest, cruiserweight Steven Ward (15-3, 5 KOs) stopped Tommy McCarthy (21-7, 10 KOs) in the 6th round. Ward had McCarthy down in the 2nd prior to the stoppage.
Belfast’s Ruadhan Farrell (7-1-1, 2 KOs) claimed a wide points victory in a rematch with local rival Gerard Hughes (5-1-1) over eight rounds at super bantamweight. The pair shared the spoils in a points draw 14 months ago.
Turkish lightweight Elif Nur Turhan (10-0, 6 KOs) upset the applecart with a 1st round knockout against Irish world title hopeful Shauna Browne (5-1, 3 KOs). Turhan landed a crushing left hand to become mandatory for Caroline Dubois’s WBC lightweight world title.
Belfast native Jack O’Neil (4-0) scored a unanimous-decision victory over Yorkshire-based Ethiopian Mohammed Wako (1-3) at super bantamweight. Wako hit the canvas in the 3rd round but made it to the end of the four rounds.
Coventry’s Aaron Bowen (5-0, 3 KOs) won every round in a 6-round middleweight contest against Argentina’s Juan Cruz Cacheiro (7-4, 3 KOs) to open the DAZN broadcast.
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