It felt like the old days at the Europa Hotel on Wednesday as a packed Grand Ballroom provided a raucous atmosphere with Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan coming face-to-face for the first time ahead of their eagerly-anticipated world title eliminator at at the SSE Arena on March 1.
Just over a year ago, the prospect of this Belfast versus Limerick battle was one that fight fans didn’t know they needed, but after circling one another throughout 2024, they will clash and it is set up for a barnburner if Wednesday’s top table exchanges are anything to go by.
Already, over half of the 7,000 tickets available have been snapped up and it’s likely the rest will go before long as a number of local derbies have already been confirmed for the undercard including a cruiserweight clash between Tommy McCarthy and Steven Ward, while Irish super-bantamweight champion Ruadhan Farrell and Gerard Hughes will rematch following their disputed draw in December 2023.
Padraig McCrory is confirmed for a big fight and prospect Jack O’Neill is also set to appear on a massive night for Irish boxing when rivalries will be settled.
However, it’s the main event which is really whetting the appetite and both undefeated fighters are oozing confidence ahead of battle as they had their say in front of a large crowd with both having vociferous cheering sections which brought promoter Eddie Hearn back to the days of the Carl Frampton-Scott Quigg press tour.
This is a fight he has been keen to make and one which has been built nicely with early disagreements surrounding the venue as Donovan was requesting Limerick or Dublin, but it’s set for Belfast and Crocker was quick to bring this particular issue up, insisting he had no issues travelling, as was the case in his last outing when coming through a fight of the year contender in Birmingham against Conah Walker.
“I took that fight and did you hear me complain? You (Donovan) were at ringside and kept saying ‘can I fight in Limerick?’,” the Sandy Row man snapped.
“He is building this up to be some sort of north v south thing, but it’s not like that. This is Belfast v Limerick and I’m a proud Belfast man who is representing every community.
“The best thing to happen was that Walker fight as it has given them confidence. Me and my team know what happened on fight week which affected me, but I made no excuses. The worst version of me beat the best version of Conah Walker.
“You (Donovan) got hurt by a journeyman (Williams Andres Herrera) last January (at the Ulster Hall). I’m going to be a tough man to beat on March 1, mark my words.”
It was a bearpit atmosphere and that is just a teaser of what is to come as Donovan insisted he has been much more willing to take this fight than Crocker.
The Limerick man, backed by his own support and dressed in a ‘crocodile hunter’ outfit, was happy to lay down the gauntlet, insisting he has the better pedigree despite having less experience as a pro.
However, despite the verbals, it’s the fists that will do the talking on March 1 and their claims they will represent the toughest night of the other’s career is impossible to disagree with as there is a sense this could be remembered as a classic for years to come.
“I’ll knock Lewis Crocker out,” ‘The Real Deal’ promised.
“You (Crocker) were forced to fight me. I have been pushing for this fight for the last 12 months.
“I don’t believe Lewis is a world-class fighter. There are levels and I believe I’m much better than Lewis. I’ve had 14 fights and I’m in the top 10 in the world; it took him 20 fights to get there.”