March 1 in Belfast will be electric. In an attractive match of unbeaten welterweights, Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan clash in a fight that should surely entertain.
Southpaw Donovan, 14-0 (11 KOs), and trained by Andy Lee, meets the 20-0 (11 KOs) Crocker, trained by Billy Nelson.
Scottish trainer Nelson, who also works with heavyweight contender Martin Bakole, was part of a feisty press conference to announce the fight, which will take place in front of one of the year’s great fight crowds at the SSE Arena in Belfast.
“Two very good fighters, but I’m very confident we will stop Paddy Donovan,” Nelson said. “I think Paddy’s a wee bit delusional, that he thinks he can punch anywhere near as hard as Lewis Crocker.”
During the press conference, both Lee and Donovan said they felt Donovan was the man with the greater firepower.
“He doesn’t believe that,” Nelson scoffed of Lee’s assertions. “He knows that’s not true. He’s got to give his fighter confidence. Who has he actually beat to genuinely get a number five or six position in the IBF? He’s fought nobody. He’s not fought a fully-fledged welterweight in the top 30. I’m not trying to be disrespectful to him, but how in the hell has he got a position in the top five in the IBF for beating who he’s beat?”
Donovan is five with the WBA, No. 6 in the IBF and No. 13 with the WBC.
“He’s got good skills,” Nelson admitted. “But I genuinely think the lack of experience he’s got will be to his detriment.”
And while he strongly favors his charge, Crocker, Nelson understands why it is a fight that has captured the nation.
“It’s North versus South, it’s really Limerick versus Belfast, let’s be honest, the people of Ireland are very knowledgeable about boxing. I’m really looking forward to it,” he added.
“I do, aye,” he said, agreeing it should be easy on the eye. “I think both boys will have their times in the fight but, ultimately, I do believe that Lewis Crocker will stop Paddy.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
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