A dramatic brawl erupted after Paddy Donovan was disqualified in his all-Irish showdown with Lewis Crocker for landing a punch after the bell.
The Limerick fighter had been in control of the IBF world welterweight title eliminator from the start, with the sold-out SSE Arena in Belfast—packed with 8,000 fans—creating a heated atmosphere.
Donovan believed he had secured victory after knocking Crocker down for the second time at the end of the eighth round. However, referee Marcus McDonnell disqualified him for striking Crocker after the bell.
By the end of the match, Crocker, a native of Sandy Row, was unable to see out of his left eye, while an emotional Donovan, unscathed, broke down in tears.
Despite being dominated for much of the fight, Crocker was awarded the win, improving his record to 21-0, while Donovan now stands at 14-1.
As the referee announced the disqualification, a mass brawl erupted in the crowd. Donovan had already been deducted two points earlier in the fight.
There had been speculation over how Donovan would handle the intense Belfast crowd, but his coach, Andy Lee, predicted he would thrive—and he did.
He controlled the early exchanges, using his jab effectively, though Crocker landed a strong combination towards the end of the first round.
Crocker attempted to unleash his powerful right hand in the second round but struggled to connect as Donovan smiled through the final seconds.
A right hook from Donovan in the third caused a cut above Crocker’s eye, drawing blood. In the fourth, Donovan received a final warning for leading with his head but still managed to land a solid punch under Crocker’s other eye.
Despite his dominance, ‘The Real Deal’ lost a point in the sixth round for headbutting. Another warning came in the seventh, yet he continued to dictate the fight with sharp combinations.
He had another point deducted in the eighth before chaos unfolded—Crocker, clearly struggling, managed to stay on his feet until the bell rang, at which point Donovan delivered the controversial final punch.
Following the fight, promoter Eddie Hearn hinted at a potential rematch, while Donovan’s team announced plans to appeal the decision to the IBF.
Meanwhile, Crocker is now the mandatory challenger for the IBF world welterweight title, currently held by American champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
The event also featured several undercard bouts. Padraig McCrory fell to Craig Richards in a featherweight contest, while Kurt Walker extended his record to 12-0, handing Lyon Woodstock his fourth career defeat. McCrory started strong but was stopped by a body shot in the eighth that he couldn’t recover from.
Walker, meanwhile, secured a majority decision victory after going ten rounds for the first time, with one judge scoring it a 95-95 draw, while the others gave him the win with scores of 97-93 and 96-94.
In an all-Belfast cruiserweight battle, Steven Ward defeated Tommy McCarthy, who failed to recover after a second knockdown in the sixth round. After the fight, McCarthy announced his retirement to pursue a career in comedy.
Another Belfast clash saw Ruadhan Farrell finally get the better of Gerard Hughes, 15 months after their controversial draw. Referee Eamonn Magill scored the bout 79-73 in Farrell’s favor.
Belfast super-bantamweight Jack O’Neill improved to 4-0 with a 39-36 decision win, despite suffering a nasty head cut from a clash with Mohammed Wako.
However, Tipperary lightweight Shauna Browne endured a devastating first-round knockout loss to Turkey’s Elif Nur Turhan, who landed a crushing left hand to end the fight in just 47 seconds.
