While Vegas glitters, Belfast braces for Lewis Crocker vs. Paddy Donovan 2

BELFAST — It would be a tenuous task to convince any Irish boxing fan that the most important fight of this weekend is happening anywhere other than Belfast’s Windsor Park.

This past March, the initial meeting between Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan was as vivid and atmospheric as any of the scenes committed to film by Martin Scorsese for his 1980 Jake LaMotta biopic, "Raging Bull." That night at Belfast's Odyssey Arena, Donovan bawled into the chest of his coach and former world champion, Andy Lee, after arguably the greatest showing of his career to date. The tears of despair came on the back of a late punch in the eighth round, which prompted referee Marcus McDonnell to disqualify Donovan from the bout after two prior point deductions for the use of his head.

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To this day, Donovan swears the roar of the arena camouflaged the ring of the round-ending bell.

Hostilities swirled around the venue in the aftermath of the chaos, with the applause from Crocker’s hometown support feeling like an affront to Donovan’s droves from the south. Brief brawls ensued that were quickly quelled by on-site security. The Belfast native’s corner felt vindicated when Crocker's arm was raised in victory, but Lee took immediate aim at McDonnell’s officiating.

“I don't know him personally and I’ve nothing against him, but his performance was a disgrace,” Lee proclaimed, insisting the clashes of heads were a consequence of Crocker’s high and forward-leaning guard.

Six months later, the departure of former champ Jaron “Boots” Ennis from the division has seen March’s IBF title eliminator become Saturday's IBF welterweight championship rematch. The first boxing world title to ever be contested between two Irishmen is upon us and the boxing mad town in Northern Ireland waits with bated breath.

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Belfast can’t compete with Las Vegas when it comes to temperature, but on Saturday night, the bubbling cauldron of Windsor Park will be equal to any scenes witnessed at T-Mobile Arena during the titanic collision of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Terrence Crawford.

The images of the crowd boiling over at the Odyssey in March are not indicative of the Irish boxing scene.

In his brilliant 2020 book "In Sunshine or Shadow," Donald McRae described how boxing rose above the sectarian partition during The Troubles — the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland between Irish and British officials that took place over the course of 30 years. Crocker will again command hometown advantage when he takes to the ring at the home of his beloved Linfield — a club deeply rooted in Northern Ireland’s protestant community — with Donovan’s faithful making the trek north from Limerick.

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Despite the controversial ending to March’s clash, the respect between Crocker and Donovan is apparent. However, there were various hoops to be jumped through to make the rematch a reality. Lee credits Keith Sullivan, who he co-manages Donovan with, for the incredible work he did appealing the outcome of the first meeting.

“I don’t think [IBF] ever seen anything that strongly put together,” Lee told Second Captains in a recent interview. “He had affidavits signed by former referees. He had audio experts who analyzed the arena and the ringing of the bell. They had no choice but to rule in our favor and order the rematch.”

Relocating to Dublin for an eight-week camp in the lead-up to the rematch, Donovan has been Lee’s primary focus at Ballybrack Boxing Club. The Irish legend considers his fellow Limerick man a prodigy and knew he would relish an opportunity to coach him after being spellbound by Donovan's performances as an amateur in the Irish national championships.

To Crocker’s credit, he didn’t bat an eye-lid when the do-over was mandated by the organization.

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“I WANT the rematch,” Crocker declared in an Instagram post at the time. “Anyone who’s asked me about my next fight, I said I want the Donovan rematch. Not once have I mentioned anyone else or any other fight bar the rematch.”

Crocker became one of the leading names of the Belfast scene after seeking out the tutelage of celebrated Scottish coach Billy Nelson in 2021. Labelled a special talent since his amateur days, Nelson honed the natural ability of “Croc” and interestingly, he appears to have a lot stronger feelings about the conclusion of the first meeting that his welterweight charge.

“Look at that, that’s f***ing disgrace,” Nelson remarked as he watched slow-motion footage of Donovan landing an elbow on Crocker in their first clash, a scene from Matchroom’s countdown video.

“As good as [Donovan] boxed, he was filthy. He knew what he was doing, 100%,” he added.

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Facing the media earlier this week, Donovan responded to his rival’s coach:

“I don't really like to comment on Billy, I think Lewis is a lot better person than Billy,” he said.

The regard shared between the opponents presents itself less and less as the showdown approaches.

The tension was palpable during the first faceoff of the week. Meeting in the center-circle of the Windsor Park pitch, Donovan fired inquisitive jibes at his counterpart regarding how well his camp went. Dancing away from the exchange, the Limerick man — who truly believes victory will seal his fate as the new face of Irish boxing — couldn’t hide his delight.

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“He’s f***ed,” Donovan exclaimed to his waiting team.

Crocker is much more difficult to read.

Although he’s been very critical of his performance in the first meeting, it feels as though he’s trying to play down his capabilities this time around despite fulfilling a dream by contesting a championship bout on the field of his boyhood heroes.

“I’d say 90% of people aren’t giving me a chance in this fight,” Crocker told Donovan weeks out from the contest. “The last fight was seen by the general public as a 50/50 fight, but not this time. So yeah, I’m a massive underdog.”

Even promoter Eddie Hearn is intrigued by the Belfast boxer’s demeanor.

“When you fight at home, there’s a lot of pressure,” the Matchroom boss told Uncrowned.

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“Obviously, you’ve got all your people, you’ve got all your friends … tickets here, tickets there … pop out for a bite to eat … I see it so much in boxing — people actually don’t perform at home, particularly the first time around. He didn’t perform the last time. I know he’s fought in Belfast before, but never to the level of the last fight, but at least now he’s got that experience. I think he’s happy to say, ‘Oh no, Paddy is massive favorite in this fight, I’m just Lewis Crocker from Belfast and I’ll have a go.'”

Before darkness descends on Sin City for Alvarez vs. Crawford, Belfast will find out if their man’s chatter has been honesty or bluster. Once the new pugilistic king of the Emerald Isle is ordained, the majority of the 20,000 expected spectators will head back into the storied city to unpack the night’s action.

You can’t help but wonder if any of them will remember to log in to Netflix when the weekend's assumed main event starts at 5 a.m. local time. At least, for the inhabitants of the infamous boxing town of Belfast and traveling Donovan contingent, I certainly wouldn’t bet on it.