There is an old Gaelic saying which goes “Is fada an bóthar nach mbíonn casadh ann.”
“It’s a long road that has no turning.”
On March 1, the careers of Belfast’s Lewis Crocker and Limerick’s Paddy Donovan took a dramatic turn as the pair met in an all-Irish clash in Belfast.
The atmosphere was pulsating. With more than bragging rights between the north and south on the line and two fighting families going toe-to-toe, the winner was set to move on to world title contention with the loser left in welterweight wilderness.
Donovan was in control of the fight but had been docked two points for use of the head and elbow. Crocker’s left eye was swollen shut and his vision was limited at best.
In Round 8, Donovan got the knockdown he sensed was coming. Despite barely being able to see, Crocker got up. He wasn’t going to let that proud fighting family — or his home city — down.
Donovan came out swinging and caught his opponent with a swooping right hand. This time Crocker didn’t rise and Donovan walked away, waiting for the count and surely believing it was all over.
The man from the Republic seemingly winning in the North. The crowd erupted.
In that moment, there was a sense from many that the final punch was late. The bell was ringing. It was certainly marginal. Donovan says he didn’t hear it, but referee Marcus McDonnell did and ruled it an illegal hit. He disqualified Donovan.
Confusion reigned, but as realisation dawned, Donovan was inconsolable. He walked around the ring furiously protesting as his team tried to calm him.
Crocker was on his stool, eyes forced shut, an oxygen mask pushed against his face. Carnage.
The controversy filled the news cycle for days. The drama, the disbelief. Opinion was divided. But there was one thing everybody agreed on: A rematch was essential.
“Did you hear the bell?”
Donovan’s team appealed to the IBF, who granted the rematch. This time, with full-champion Jaron Ennis having vacated, it will be for the IBF world title. Discussing the first fight, Crocker says it only took him a couple of days to move on from the ordeal.
It was a different story for Donovan.
“It’s not easy to get the fight out of your head. It’s not really the fight, it’s the aftermath … Coming out of the ring, the emotions setting in and seeing different reactions from the crowd,” Donovan told reporters.
“This part of my journey doesn’t really happen to many fighters. You either win fair or you lose fair. You either win, get knocked out or knock out somebody and you just move on. It was like I won the fight but didn’t get the result. That’s the way I felt deep down.”
The fight generated massive buzz across Ireland. Donovan could barely leave his house without people asking him about it. Constant reminders he could do without:
“Be honest, did you hear the bell?”
“When is the rematch?”
It was time to get back to work.
“For me it’s in the past. I spent some good time with my family and I switched off. I stayed indoors most of the time. When I got ready to regroup, I got back in the gym,” he says.
Since returning, all his focus has been geared towards Sept. 13. So much so, Donovan missed the birth of his son, William — named after his late uncle — while in camp. He has only seen him once.
Helping him through it all is coach Andy Lee; the Republic’s last male world champion. Lee is one of the best trainers in the business right now and someone Donovan has known since he was a young boy.
“An Irish man training an Irish man to become a world champion, it’s not every day you see it,” Donovan says.
“He’s always told me that I was going to become a world champion. To be his first [world champion] fighter … I think would be a great thing to give back to Andy.”
“I feel disrespected, but that’s fine.”
On the other side of the coin, Crocker won the fight, but felt he never got credit for it. People have put an asterisk on his resume. Does he feel disrespected?
“Yeah, I definitely do but it’s good. I’ve never been in this position before so I feel like I’ll surprise a lot of people on the night,” Crocker says.
He knows he wouldn’t be able to move on until it was settled once and for all. There were so many unanswered questions. The 28-year-old insists he had an off night in the first fight and will have to be much improved to get past Donovan a second time.
“To beat Paddy, I have to be better in every aspect. Paddy would be the best fighter I’ve fought. I’ll need the performance of my life on the 13th,” Crocker admits.
Crocker lives a five minute walk from Windsor Park, the setting for the rematch, while a huge cohort from the south are expected to cross the border to support Donovan.
However it unfolds, expect more twists and turns when their paths cross again.
