Paddy Donovan disqualified in controversial loss to Lewis Crocker

Paddy Donovan suffered his first career defeat and it came via hugely controversial disqualification in Belfast.

Lewis Crocker got a win today over Paddy Donovan at home in Belfast, but not without a ton of controversy.

Donovan (14-1, 11 KO) was disqualified after the eighth round for a punch that landed clearly after the bell, which dropped Crocker (21-0, 11 KO), who had been legally down just moments prior and was also clearly on the losing end of the fight throughout, despite his best efforts.

But the real show-stealer in the eyes of many was referee Marcus McDonnell, who had already taken points from Donovan in the sixth and eighth rounds for use of the head, which some felt may have been McDonnell being influenced both by Crocker’s behavior and a loud, pro-Crocker crowd at the SSE Arena.

The fight was an IBF final eliminator at welterweight, meaning Crocker now — at least for the time being — has a shot lined up at the belt currently held by Jaron “Boots” Ennis.

Here’s the first knockdown:

And here’s what caused the disqualification:

There’s really no question that the shot landed after the bell, but there are overall questions about the performance of McDonnell in the fight and, frankly, whether or not Donovan could hear the bell, as it was a tremendously loud environment in Belfast.

“Our plan was to work in the second half of the fight. I was repeatedly hit with the head and I got hit with an elbow that wasn’t called, but that’s not the way I want to win a fight,” Crocker said. “I heard the bell, I dropped my hands, and I couldn’t see from the headbutts previous, and a punch came out of nowhere after the bell.”

“It was turning into a great fight. I’ve said Paddy is a great fighter and it’s unfortunate the fight ended like that. As I say, obviously I didn’t want the fight to end like that, and certainly Paddy didn’t, either,” Crocker added. Asked of a rematch, Crocker said it was “too early to say,” but that he’d leave it to promoter Eddie Hearn.

“I won the fight. I was winning every single round. I dropped Lewis, I beat him up, I was (going to get) the knockout,” Donovan said. “They said I hit him after the bell, I thought I hit him on the bell. You could see Lewis was a beaten man. I won fair and square and the ref took my dreams tonight.

“I don’t have to speak. All the viewers know what happened. I won the fight, I won every round, and I knocked Lewis Crocker out. I should have got the fight. We want an automatic rematch.”

The rematch will make financial sense, and it’s what Hearn says he wants to see, though with Crocker winning the IBF eliminator, that gets more complicated.

“You never want a fight to finish like that. It was a good fight, Paddy Donovan was controlling the fight,” Hearn said. “Paddy was sensational. The shot was after the bell. Did it warrant an instant disqualification? For me, I want to see it again.

“Lewis Crocker’s in a position now, he’s mandatory for the (IBF) world title. I’m sure (Donovan’s team) will appeal to the IBF. Lewis Crocker doesn’t have to do anything, he can sit there for a shot at the world title, but the reality is, there’s going to be a lot of people wanting to see this fight again. There’s going to be a lot of people with mixed opinions about the fight and the disqualification. … We know what controversy does, it builds into massive rematches. The rematch of this fight is going to be huge.”

From the undercard

• Craig Richards TKO-8 Padraig McCrory: Fairly one-sided affair, really, as Richards (19-4-1, 12 KO) was just better than McCrory (19-2, 9 KO) and put him away on a good body shot in the eighth round. Richards is 34 and not likely to win a world title or anything, he’s had his chance at that, but he stays relevant enough in the division to get some more paydays. It wasn’t exciting to watch for the most part, but a nice finish for Richards.

• Kurt Walker MD-10 Lyon Woodstock: Walker (12-0, 2 KO) was an Olympian for Ireland and fell just short of medaling in Tokyo, but you can see the fairly low ceiling because he just doesn’t have much power at all and his style is aggressively “well-schooled amateur.” This doesn’t make him a bad fighter, but it limits his pro upside. Woodstock (16-4, 7 KO) gave this a solid go and was very competitive. It’s hard to see what sort of true top featherweight Walker, 29, could beat, but he doesn’t lack for effort.
• Steven Ward TKO-6 Tommy McCarthy: McCarthy was given the sort of matchup where the 34-year-old veteran and local favorite could possibly shine at home, but McCarthy (21-7, 10 KO) just does not have the punch resistance anymore. The signs had been there over the last few years, but Ward (15-3, 5 KO) isn’t near the puncher his other opponents had been, and he was dropped at the end of the second and then again in the sixth. At 34, McCarthy has absolutely seen his best days come and go, and could consider hanging it up, because there’s just no upside in competitive fights for him at this point. He could also hang around and, you know, beat up totally overmatched opponents; it’s not something that’s going to get you headlines or big paydays, but it is a way to stay in the game. Ward, 36, is not a serious contender and this doesn’t make him one, but he went in there and did the job that was in front of him, and does have a bit more life now, at the very least he’ll be a more attractive opponent for somebody.

Read the full article here