Lewis Crocker eyes Conor Benn after turning doubt into glory in Belfast rematch: 'It’s a huge fight'

BELFAST — The vast majority of Windsor Park roared in adulation as Lewis Crocker was crowned IBF welterweight champion following his rematch with Paddy Donovan on Saturday night in Belfast.

The entire fight week felt like a countdown to Donovan’s coronation.

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Despite the proceedings taking place a short walk from his house and on the home ground of his beloved Linfield F.C. soccer club, Crocker’s muted demeanor throughout the week perpetuated Donovan's belief that he would leave Belfast a world champion.

The first meeting in March provided Limerick's Donovan and coach Andy Lee all of the encouragement they needed. Despite being disqualified in that initial bout, “Real Deal” lived up to his moniker as he dominated Crocker from bell-to-bell and sent him to the canvas before a late punch at the end of the eighth round prompted referee Marcus MacDonald to end the fight.

In Belfast last week, Crocker’s own people were puzzled by his standoffish disposition. He offered stoicism to the swaggering southerner right up until the public weigh-in, where he let the mask slip, becoming animated and matching Donovan’s enthusiasm for the looming bloodletting.

But on Saturday night, “Croc” sank to his knees as the split decision was read — one card for Donovan, two for the Belfast man — a raw release after a week spent being written off.

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The day after the bout, the defeated Donovan posted Compubox statistics on his Instagram stories showing he out-landed the hometown fighter and that he also displayed a higher power punch accuracy.

"Nobody gave me a chance in this fight, nobody,” Crocker bellowed into the Belfast night. “I want to say all the people who gave me stick after the last fight, when you write your post tomorrow, make sure you write: 'Lewis Crocker, world champion.’”

The majority of the online reaction to Crocker’s win pointed to Donovan being robbed, yet the two knockdowns he suffered in the third and fifth rounds were always going to make it a tight affair. Speaking after the contest, Crocker believed the early knockdowns provoked a crisis of confidence within his counterpart due to his overwhelming belief in the lead-up to their clash.

“I loved, and I said this from the get-go — the underdog role and I embraced it,” he told the gathered media in the bowels of the stadium.

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“I was way more relaxed. Once I hurt him, I could see, because he’d been talking a good bit prior to [the fight]. Once he knew he got dropped, he was maybe like, ‘I’ve talked all this s*** about him and now I’m on the back foot.’”

Windsor Park felt like it was about to boil over by the time the action got underway. Briefly, during the second round, security had to wrestle among the spectators just behind where the media were posted to break-up brief hostilities.

Donovan certainly wasn’t a passenger in the affair. After the two knockdowns he dutifully fought his way back into the contest. From ringside, it appeared his corner wasn't entirely sure he was ahead as his brother surveyed professionals around the ring, including Tony Bellew, as to how he was scoring the bout.

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“[It was] really difficult to score,” Matchroom's Eddie Hearn said in the aftermath of the bout.

“I gave Lewis Crocker the second round, I think the sixth round and the 12th round … and the two 10-8 rounds. That’s two 10-8s plus three rounds, which is 114-to-113 Lewis Crocker, but the 12th round could’ve gone either way. The second round was a very tight round and there were other rounds that were tight rounds.

“I was shocked that a lot of the fighters we had ... [scored] Donovan up by a few after nine or 10, and I was thinking, ‘I can’t see how that’s physically possible!’”

To the victor goes the spoils, and Crocker walked away from Saturday's historic all-Ireland fight with a new belt and a surplus of options. Despite the evident talent and charisma Donovan has showcased, his next move is all-important as he looks to propel himself back to relevancy.

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It was Donovan who had earmarked Conor Benn as his first awaiting title defense, and as far as Hearn is concerned, that seems to be the easiest fight to make now for Crocker from Matchroom’s point of view.

“It’s not just Conor Benn,” Hearn said, “there’s a Devin Haney unification if he beats Brian Norman, Rolly Romero unification, Teofimo Lopez.

"These are the names and they’ve never had a fight like that in Belfast. Obviously with Conor and Lewis being part of the Matchroom team, it’s an easy fight to make.”

Crocker was completely aware that he was being written out of the tale for most people beyond Saturday night. He couldn’t help but let a wry smile crack across his unblemished face when he was asked about a future showdown with Benn.

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“I [saw] that there were articles saying that Benn would get the winner of me and Paddy, but I also [saw] that 99 percent of them posts were just about Paddy and Benn,” he said. “Nobody was expecting me to get a shot at Benn. I just think domestically it’s a huge fight with great styles, and it’s one of them where it’s going to be entertaining from the get-go.”