Eddie Hearn is excited about the September 13th rematch between Paddy Donovan and Lewis Crocker at Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Besides the all-Irish angle for the fight, the vacant IBF welterweight title will be at stake.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom)
Eddie’s “Mad” Fight Vision
Matchroom promoter Hearn expects a stampede of interest from fighters wanting to fight the Crocker-Donovan winner to capture the IBF 147-lb title. He believes these fighters will target the winner:
– Ryan Garcia
– Devin Haney
– Teofimo Lopez
– Conor Benn
It’s hard to picture any of those guys showing interest in fighting Crocker (14-1, 11 KOs) or Donovan (21-0, 11 KOs) for the IBF belt. There wouldn’t be any value to the fight other than capturing the IBF title.
Lewis and Paddy are viewed as domestic-level fighters who have been maneuvered into the position by Hearn in the IBF’s 147-lb rankings without fighting world-class fighters. Moreover, the dough that would be at stake for Teofimo, Benn, Haney, and Ryan fighting the Crocker-Donovan winner would be meager compared to what they’ve been getting.
IBF Belt’s Big Draw
“The first-ever all-Irish fight for the world championship. That’s history in itself. If you win this fight, who could you fight? Conor Benn, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, Shakur Stevenson, and they’ll all be looking at the winner of this fight. They’ll be saying, ‘I want to fight them,’” said Eddie Hearn to The Stomping Ground about the Lewis Crocker vs. Paddy Donovan 2 clash on September 13th.
It sounds like a warped pipe dream for Hearn, thinking that the big names will want to fight Crocker or Donovan for the IBF title. The belts are secondary when fighters get to the level of popularity that Ryan, Haney, Teofimo, and Benn are receiving.
Realistic Opponent Outlook
A more realistic option for the Crocker-Donovan 2 winner is Karen Chukhadzhian or Raul Curiel. Those aren’t big names and would likely beat Crocker or Donovan with ease, but at least it would give them the chance to fight a decent opponent on the world level for a change. Thus far, the two Irish fighters have never fought anyone in the top 15 at welterweight. They’ve been moved to their top spots with clever match-making, which is pathetic when you think about it.
Crazy Talk, Big Night
“You’ve got the chance to become world champion here, create history, but also be in fights for an astronomical amount of money,” said Hearn about the potential for the winner of the Crocker vs. Donovan 2 fight to rake in the dough. “You’ve got a rematch in front of 20,000 at Windsor Park for the welterweight world title. It’s mad. That’s why this fight is called ‘Days Like This,’ because you won’t forget days like this. Wait until you see what it’s like here on September 13th. Even when [Carl] Frampton fought here. It’s crazy.
“He’s got to be better because Paddy was the better man on the night until the mistake,” said Hearn about Crocker needing to improve in the rematch.
Last Updated on 07/28/2025
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