PADDY DONOVAN has had a taste of the biggest stage – and vowed to feed off it when he squares off with Lewis Crocker.
The undefeated Limerick welterweight squares off with his fellow unbeaten Irishman at the SSE Arena in Belfast on Saturday.
The stakes couldn’t be higher, with the winner becoming mandatory challenger for the IBF world title.
It promises to be the kind of occasion that can act as a launchpad towards more major moments coming to the island of Ireland.
And Donovan hopes Saturday will be the beginning of something special.
He told SunSport: “This could be the start of something major in Irish boxing, especially down south.
“We are on a little bit of a drought for big shows and big boxing events. To bring big time boxing back to Ireland would be massive and to be part of it is an amazing feeling.
“I have seen so many kids back home following me now and talking about starting boxing and opening up gyms left, right, and centre, so to see the new generation following me is an amazing feeling.”
Donovan takes the responsibility of being a role model very seriously.
He added: “Every kid growing up always had an idol to look up to.
“For me, it was Bernard Dunne and Willie ‘Big Bang’ Casey from Limerick.
“You always had somebody to look up to so you could train and be like them.
“For young kids to look up to me and say, ‘I want to be the next Paddy Donovan’ or see my name up in the big lights ad the big shows happening.
“Their families bringing them to these events gives that kid that extra push to start the sport.
“Whether that be boxing, football, hurling. Just to show they can get into a sport and be successful.”
TAYL OF THE TAPE
The 26-year-old is less experienced than Crocker, who has a record of 20-0 to Donovan’s 14-0.
Nonetheless, he has amassed a highlight reel, with the aid of esteemed trainer and fellow Limerick man Andy Lee.
Eleven of his 14 wins have come by way of stoppage, including his last five on the trot.
Along the way, he has gotten a taste for the big time.
On the undercard of Katie Taylor‘s loss to Chantelle Cameron at the 3Arena in May 2023, he beat Sam O’Maison by corner stoppage.
Six months later, before KT got revenge on her rival to become a two-weight undisputed champion, Donovan won the WBA Continental Welterweight Title with a round four stoppage against Danny Ball.
Both nights took place in front of a capacity crowd in Dublin, and left Donovan wanting more.
“Joe is the most down to Earth fighter I have ever met. I have been around some of the biggest names in boxing but no one compares to Joseph.”
He added: “I knew Katie since I was 10 years old.
“At 12 or 13 years old, I was her sparring partner and to be on the same show as Katie was a tremendous feeling that I will probably never forget.
“You could see what it meant to Ireland, in general, to have Katie fighting in Ireland.
“I hope kids can look at me and say, ‘if Katie can do it and Paddy can do it, I can do it.’
“Them events is what Irish boxing needs, Irish sport needs. We need to be up there with the biggest and the baddest events in the world.
“To do it in Ireland and do it in Limerick and do it in Cork, would be amazing for the country.”
BIG TIME PREP
‘The Real Deal’ has pulled out all the stops to be in prime fighting shape for his date with ‘The Croc’.
He spent three weeks in Saudi Arabia training with Joseph Parker, while he has teamed up with nutritionist George Lockhart, who has worked with both JP and Tyson Fury, among others.
Parker himself was in the throes of preparations for his title fight with Daniel Dubois during his camp with Donovan.
That bout fell through after the heavyweight champ went down with illness, with Martin Bakole – who, like Crocker, is trained by Billy Nelson – stepping in on short notice.
Parker duly dispatched Bakole in Riyadh to keep his momentum going, and Donovan hopes his relationship with the 33-year-old will do the same for him.
He said: “We did our camp here in Ireland and the last three weeks we were over in Saudi with Andy, me, and Joseph training.
“Joe is the most down to Earth fighter I have ever met. I have been around some of the biggest names in boxing but no one compares to Joseph.
“He makes sure we are training at the same time, he makes sure we eat at the same time, he makes sure we get massages at the same time.
“Everything is done perfectly for this fight and Joseph is an amazing guy. His family is an amazing family. His friends, his cousins were all there.
“He brought the Samoan-New Zealand energy and I brought the Irish energy with Andy. A great combination.”
Donovan trained with Joseph Parker in the lead up to his fight with Lewis Crocker[/caption]
Donovan was the home fighter at those aforementioned bouts at the 3Arena against English duo O’Maison and Ball.
That will not be the case on Saturday night, when he squares off with Belfast’s own Lewis Crocker at the SSE Arena.
He beat Williams Herrera at Ulster Hall on the undercard of Crocker vs Jose Felix Jr in January 2024.
And he played down the influence of the Belfast crowd before issuing an ominous prediction for how he will have his hand raised.
“People may say it will be a hostile crowd. Maybe. I know there are a lot of Irish fans coming from the south.
“When you get in the ring, everything goes quiet. It is just you and your opponent.
“You prepare for every single thing. You prepare to fight, you prepare to box, you prepare the inside, you prepare the outside, you prepare Plan A and Plan B.
“Lewis and I have never shared the ring before so we don’t know how the styles are going to collide but I have a feeling the crowd is in for a treat, really.
“I am going to stop Lewis Crocker, I think I take him into round six onwards.
“He is going to get careless and get tagged.
“Lights out.”
