The IBF Details Their Decision In Ordering Lewis Crocker vs Paddy Donovan 2

A glimmer of justice has been served by the IBF (International Boxing Federation) as they decided to mandate the rematch between welterweights Lewis Crocker (21-0, 11 KOs) and Paddy Donovan (14-1, 11 KOs) after a controversial disqualification in their March 1 fight.

The whole fight was weird in that the referee made himself a part of the fight, deducting a point for a low blow by Donovan and not being anywhere close to the fighters when the bell rang at the end of the seventh round. Donovan was winning on all three of the judges’ scorecards but was awarded the disqualification loss because he hit Crocker milliseconds after the sound of the bell.

Donovan’s team sent a letter to the IBF as they may have felt Crocker was ready to move onto another opponent instead of giving their fighter a rematch to settle things the right way.

Below was sent out to the press outlining how the IBF came to the decision of ordering the rematch between Crocker and Donovan.

On March 7, 2025, the IBF received a letter from Keith Sullivan on behalf of Paddy Donovan appealing the result of the IBF #1 Welterweight Eliminator bout between Lewis Croker and Paddy Donovan which took place on March 1, 2025, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Lewis Crocker was determined the winner by disqualification in the 8^th round of the scheduled 12-round contest. The appeal was pursuant to Rule 12 of the IBF Rules Governing Championship Contests which states: 

12. A. Grounds for Appeal
13. Miscalculation of the score where the correct score would change the outcome of the fight;
14. Inappropriate conduct by the referee which is alleged to have affected the outcome of the fight;
15. Misconduct on the part of the judges or referee which is alleged to have had a material effect on the outcome of the fight;
16. Imposition of penalties under Rule 14; and
17. Any other alleged violation of the rules of the IBF that may have a detrimental effect on the rights of the complainant.

 On March 26, 2025, the Championships Committee convened via teleconference to consider this matter and made the following recommendations to the Championships Chairman and the President based on the following:

1. The referee acted in accordance with IBF, BBB of C, and ABC rules as the “sole arbiter” of the bout.
2. After a review of the eighth round, the timekeepers “10 second warning” was inaudible on the tape.

3. The referee did not “close the distance” between himself and the 2 boxers.            
4. Neither the referee nor the boxers were aware when the round was ending due to crowd noise.

     The committee concluded that neither the referee nor the boxers acted improperly. Furthermore, the punches that were thrown after the bell were thrown due to the referee not being in an optimal position, and Donovan being unable to hear the bell. Based on the foregoing, the IBF has ordered an immediate rematch of the March 1, 2025, IBF #1 Welterweight Eliminator bout between Lewis Crocker vs. Paddy Donovan. The parties have been ordered to negotiate and negotiations should conclude by April 11, 2025. The bout should take place in the next 120 days or by Friday, July 25, 2025.

Let’s hope that nothing gets in the way of a rematch that will be highly anticipated by boxing fans worldwide.

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

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