#5 Lewis Crocker (21-0, 11 food) was saved from a near-certain defeat by referee marcus mcdonnell abruptly disqualifying paddy donovan (14-1, 11 costs) in the eighth round after he dropped crocker with a perfect place, albeit a tad bit after the IBF Welterweight Title Eliminator on Saturday Night at the Sse Arena, in Belfast, Ireland. There are no words to describe how bad it was by McDonnel. I’m speechless.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
A moment of madness
It was a strange call. I mean, there have been no previous cases of warnings to Donovan, 26, to hit the clock. So, it is strange that referee McDonnel would take him out of there after Poleaxing Crocker. The official time of the downtime was at 3:00 of round eight.
As far as I can know, Crocker has come close to winning one of the rounds. It was just #6 Donovan who had a field day, beat the royal filling from ‘The Croc’, detected his left eye and enjoyed him fully in this one -sided competition. Both Crocker’s eyes were cut, and he was beaten hard in the eighth.
Referee McDonnell gave Donovan hearted before the DQ and punished him for the use of the head in rounds six and eight. It seemed to me that Crocker also came forward like a Billy Goat. So I don’t know why Donovan was captured for points left and right.
Obviously, there must be a re-broadcast between Crocker and Donovan so they can prove who really deserves to fight for the IBF 147-LB title. The welterweight section is now so weak that it is the type of contenders you fight in title -eliminators. If there is a rematch, the winner will be the compulsory for the IBF Welterweight Champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Crocker goes down after the bell and Donovan DQ’d is !! 😵😵#Crockerdonovan pic.twitter.com/kbaflo1qey
– Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) 1 March 2025
Last updated on 03/01/2025
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