Belfast’s own Lewis Crocker has pulled it off. In front of a packed Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park, he edged Paddy Donovan in their rematch to become the new IBF World Welterweight Champion. The cards were tight as you’d like — 114-112, 114-113, 111-115 — but Crocker dropped to his knees in tears when the split decision went his way.
The fight had the whole place buzzing, knockdowns and all. Donovan, who got himself disqualified in their first scrap, rallied hard this time, but Crocker’s early power and steady pressure tipped it.
Crocker Floors Donovan, Calls Out Conor Benn
The Belfast lad floored Donovan twice, and the crowd went absolutely mad. The first knockdown lifted Windsor Park, and the second — near the end of round five — had Donovan saved by the bell. Fair play to him, Donovan battled back and made it scrappy down the stretch, but the belt stayed in Belfast.
Crocker had a message after the win:
“A lot of people gave my stick after the first fight (against Paddy Donovan). Well tomorrow, when you do your wee post make sure you write: Lewis Crocker World f****** Champion.”
He dedicated it close to home: “This belt belongs to my parents. They got me to where I am today. This belt belongs to them as much as me. I owe them everything and I am so grateful.”
And with the crowd still roaring, he tossed the next challenge: “A great fight in my opinion for fans in the UK, would be myself and Conor Benn. Let’s make that happen!”
Agyarko Survives, McKenna and Brown Put on a Show
Caoimhin Agyarko had to grind it out against Ishmael Davis, getting the nod on a split decision (114-113, 114-113, 112-115). He got dropped in the last round and wasn’t happy, insisting he slipped, but he still came away unbeaten. On X, he simply posted: “Doubt me now.”
Tyrone McKenna tore into Dylan Moran and forced a seventh-round stoppage. Pat Brown kept his 100% KO streak alive with a second-round finish over Austin Nnmadi, despite the ref stepping in a bit quick. Brown wasn’t fussed:
“He was moaning a bit afterwards but that was only ever going one way… I enjoyed it tonight. All I had to do was stick to the gameplan, and that’s what I did.”
Molly McCann’s Boxing Bow Gets a Mad Twist
Ex-MMA star Molly McCann finally got her hands wrapped for boxing, but her opponent Kate Rodomska gave her a cheeky reminder of the cage life — booting her in the second round. The ref missed it, but McCann fought on and got the sixth-round stoppage.
“It’s been a brilliant week… I even took a little kick in there! I thought you ‘cheeky…’. But I’m here to honour the Queensberry Rules because I left [MMA] a few months ago,” McCann said.
She thanked Eddie Hearn and made it clear she wants another run out soon: “I want to get out again as quick as possible to keep me learning and keep me in the gym.”
Undercard Results
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Jim Donovan def. Lucas Barabasz (PTS) – pro debut
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Kyle Smith def. Connor Meanwell (PTS) – pro debut
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Aaron Bowen def. Carlos Miguel Ronner (TKO 2) – two knockdowns
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Caine Singh def. Donagh Keary (PTS) – upset win
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Matthew Boreland def. Ruadhan Farrell (RTD 6) – Irish Super Bantamweight Title
McCann getting kicked in a boxing match shows women’s boxing still ain’t taken serious enough. That ref didn’t even see it! What if she got hurt bad cause of that kick?
‘xactly right Lee, rules is rules and they should be followed no matter what fight it is or who’s fighting.
‘She left MMA so she shouldn’t be getting kicked no more 🥴 That ain’t fair at all and makes boxing look stupid when refs miss stuff like that.
Crocker calling out Conor Benn is dumb if you ask me 😒 Benn will wipe him out easy. He just got lucky here and now thinks he can beat anyone just cause of one close win.
People acting like Crocker is some big hero now but he only just scraped through with a split decision. If you win like that, it don’t really count like a true champion fight should.
Exactly! If you a real champ you win clear not by one point. That don’t prove nothing to me about Crocker being better than Donovan.
Nah he still knocked Donovan down twice, what more you want? If someone gets floored two times they shouldn’t even be close on scorecards 🤷♂️
I think Lewis Crocker didn’t really win that fight fair. The judges was wrong on the scores. Donovan fought way better in the last rounds and should of got the decision instead.