Lewis Crocker remained unbeaten, as Paddy Donovan was disqualified in the eighth round of a controversial and chaotic welterweight world title eliminator at the SSE Arena in Belfast on Saturday.
Crocker (21-0, 11 KOs) was last out in June 2024, taking a close points win against Conah Walker in Birmingham, while Donovan (14-1, 11 KOs) had his last contest in May last year when he scored a ninth round stoppage win over the faded Lewis Ritson in Leeds.
It was a quiet opening round, with Donovan landing heavy blows, and he continued with confidence in the second.
Crocker was cut in the third, caused by a Donovan punch, but the first warning for ‘The Real Deal’ came in round four for use of the head.
The fifth saw a frantic exchange between the pair, but a round later the 26-year-old was deducted a point for using his head once again, much to his protestation.
He shook that off and landed a hard left hand to the body of Crocker, with the Northern Irishman’s cut worsening in the seventh, and by round eight, another point was taken off the Limerick man, this time for use of the elbow.
Again, Donovan reacted by firing back, and he dropped ’The Croc’ with a volley of punches.
The 28-year-old beat the count, but was dropped again this time after the sound of the bell for the end of the eight round, prompting a disqualification from referee Marcus McDonnell.
Confusion reigned as Donovan thought the fight had been ruled in his favour.
Richards KO’s McCrory
Craig Richards breathed new life into his career, as he ran out an eighth round winner at light heavyweight against Padraig McCrory.
A left hand to the body did the damage for Richards (19-4-1, 12 KOs), with McCrory (19-2, 9 KOs) unable to beat the count.
‘Spider’ bounced back from defeat to Willy Hutchinson last time out.
Ward stops McCarthy
A crossroads clash at cruiserweight saw former European champion, Tommy McCarthy (21-7, 10 KOs) stopped by Steven Ward (15-3, 5 KOs) in the sixth round in their scheduled ten rounder.
McCarthy was down in the second, and once more prior to the conclusion.
And it’s all over!
A massive win for Steven Ward in Belfast 👏#McCarthyWard | @DAZNBoxing | #CrockerDonovan pic.twitter.com/UApMhZHaWm
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) March 1, 2025
Walker overcomes Woodstock
Lisburn featherweight Kurt Walker was a winner on the bill, but had to rely on a majority decision to get past Leon Woodstock.
One judge had their ten rounder level at 95-95, with the remaining judges tallying 97-93 and 96-94 for Walker (12-0, 2 KOs) as he remained unbeaten.
Browne upset by Turhan
Shauna Browne was stunned in her WBC lightweight title eliminator against Elif Nur Turhan (10-0, 6 KOs), as the Turk uncorked a left hand that robbed Browne (5-1, 3 KOs) of her feet, and dropped her, and as she rose on unsteady legs, the referee waved the contest off.
Elif Nur Turhan DROPS Shauna Browne and it’s OVER!! 😱#CrockerDonovan | Live on DAZN today pic.twitter.com/X4suphWOw9
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) March 1, 2025
Remaining Undercard
Super bantamweight prospect, Ruadhan Farrell took a rematch win against Gerard Hughes (5-1-1) over eight rounds. Their original meeting ended in a draw, but this time Farrell (7-1-1, 2 KOs) was a 79-73 winner.
Aaron Bowen (5-0, 3 KOs) won all six rounds in his middleweight clash with Juan Cruz Cacheiro (7-4, 3 KOs).
Jack O’Neill (4-0, 1 KOs) dropped Mohammed Wako (1-3) on the way to a points win over four at super bantamweight.
