‘He Was Losing This Fight. He Was On The Verge Of Being Stopped’ Says Tony Bellew About Lewis Crocker

On March 1, it was a game like no other. Topping the card was the battle of two unbeaten welterweights, Lewis Crocker as well as Paddy Donovan. The bout was unique. It was not just Irish boxing bragging rights that were at stake, but also the opportunity to be in contention to challenge for the IBF welterweight belt which is presently under the custody Jaron 'Boots' Ennis.

“All fighters want to win the last 10, 15, 20 seconds of the round. It’s a big, big thing. And because he dropped Crocker, he knew he was on the verge again and he was on the verge of stopping him, the right hook lands. And I feel for Paddy and I really feel for Lewis Crocker as well. I’m not gonna lie, I feel for him. ’cause he showed such bravery, people saying he was looking for a way out. I don’t agree with that,” said Tony Bellew during an interview with the CasinoBeats.

During the fight, Lewis Crocker appeared the more economical boxer, he committed only when he needed to and this model implied that Donovan was forced to continually go after his rival.

A cut opened up above Crocker's right eye in the third as Donovan started to aim the body. During the match Donovan had been warned series of times for use of his elbow and in round six, referee Marcus McDonell had enough and deducted a point off the 'Real Deal'.

“He was losing this fight. He was on the verge of being stopped. And I think Marcus McDonald made the knee jerk reaction to the punch off the bell. Why doesn’t he just stop the boxing, just stop the time? Because you have to look at it, if he gets hit with a low blow there, there’s no way he’s disqualifying him. But ultimately Marcus MacDonald lit the paper. And he set it off, mate. And it was a knee jerk reaction. But he just threw him out. He disqualified him,” said Mr. Bellew.

Donovan was disqualified after landing a shot following the bell at the end of the eighth round. The Limerick pugilist had earlier twice been deducted points for using his head and elbow.

“It’s a shame we didn’t get to see the last few rounds. I think Lewis Crocker was on the verge of being stopped there, Donovan dropped him in that round as well. So, he would have been dropped twice. But as I say, I’m not disputing it was a punch after the bell. I’ve seen far worse to be brutally honest. If it was a couple of seconds after that and the action had stopped, I’d have said disqualify him because that’s disgusting,” said the Bomber.

“He was going for the stoppage. I think Marcus Mcdonald’s made the mistake. And hopefully he identifies it and accepts it, takes it on the chin, and he learns from it as well,” he said.

On his part, this is what Eddie Hearn had to say about the match.

"We know what controversy does. It builds into massive fights, massive rematches. The rematch of this fight is huge.

"But will Crocker want it? Whjat will the IBF say? We'll have to see what happens over the next couple of weeks.

"Honestly, as a promoter for both, I want to see the fight again and I want to see it play out," said Hearn in an after-fight interview.