IF you can guarantee one thing about the Lewis Crocker-Paddy Donovan rematch, it’s that there will be an abundance of chitter chatter and words exchanged before they enter the Windsor Park ring on September 13.
Speaking freely at Monday’s press conference to officially open the return fight festivities, the pair attempted to jostle for a patch of higher ground just as much as they jostled for centre ring and foot position during their first fight on March 1.
That original battle between North and South ended controversially. Crocker had been effectively befuddled for seven-plus rounds and showed few signs of finding a foothold of any description. A little touch of heads and a prod and poke of elbows had left his static face starched with bumps, bruises and blemishes, before Paddy Donovan delivered the final blow.
That blow arrived after the bell, handing Crocker a shocking DQ victory. In Belfast’s Europa Hotel, Donovan twisted the turn of events masterfully, leading Crocker down a two-pronged road of confession: Did you get knocked out, or did you take a dive?
“You could ask Lewis, did he take a dive or did I knock him out after the bell? I’m not sure, but I think he took a dive to get me disqualified,” Donovan responded to promoter Eddie Hearn’s leading question.
“Obviously, I’ve been winning every single round and was in a comfortable position. The only way for Lewis was to get the win and, no disrespect, was [by] taking a dive.”
Hardly willing to admit he slumped to the canvas in a frivolous feign of injury, Crocker was at pains to point out that a shot after the bell, delivered out of the blue, finished him off in an unlawful manner.
“He did knock me out. I was sure I was in trouble at that stage, you know what I mean, and Paddy made the mistake that ultimately he paid for.”
Pre-fight projections and amateur psychiatric evaluations of a fighter’s demeanour are often misplaced or represent how the observers themselves are feeling. That said, Crocker didn’t seem overly comfortable in the build-up to the first fight and he doesn’t seem any more confident now.
The oft-repeated tagline of a puncher could be weighing heavily on his mind as the conundrum of getting inside to land those punches lies with the Belfastman and his trainer, Billy Nelson.
“I agree with the decision [made by the referee to disqualify Donovan], but I also agree that there should be a rematch,” stated ‘The Croc’.
“100% I have to be better, but I’ve said from the start, Paddy’s a great fighter, and he showed it in the last fight, so I have to put on the performance of my life to win on the 13th of September, and there’s no better time and place to do it.
“I rang Jamie [Conlan, manager] and said, ‘get that rematch sorted’, and there was no opponent in my mind other than Paddy, and everything’s worked out.”
It certainly has worked out well for both men. The rematch, initially expected to be an eliminator, has been upgraded to a full IBF welterweight title fight now that champion Jason Ennis has moved up in weight, leaving the vacant belt behind.
One man got disqualified and officially lost the contest. The other won but by default, having been outboxed for the majority of the contest. For Crocker, it’s a dream-come-true moment to fight in the Northern Ireland national stadium and a second swing at redemption. For Donovan, everything has worked out sweetly as he finds himself in an all-Irish world title showdown on Irish soil. No wonder the Limerick man is smiling.
“I think I can get the knockout this time in better fashion,” he grinned.
