Headline NewsNews

British title challenger up next for ‘The Croc’ – Lewis Crocker to take a step up

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is liffey-crane-hire-1.jpg

Unbeaten Lewis Crocker [10-0] starts the 2020 with a step up fight.

The big punching Belfast prospect will take on former British title challenger John Thain [17(1)-4(0)] at the Ulster Hall come Febraury 1.

It’s the kind of opponent upgrade and even name recognition the 22-year-old was looking for.

Victory over Thain would put the wheels in motion for ‘The Croc’ in terms of a big 2020.

The British fighter challenged for the British title as recent as November of 2016, losing out to Bradley Skeete on points.

The six foot Scot’s only other defeats have come to solid domestic operators Ronnie Heffron, British and Commonwealth title challenger Kris Carslaw and most recently Larry Ekundayo.

The Glasgow native was once lauded as one to watch, but has yet to deliver on early promise. He will come to Belfast hoping to breath new life into his career and considering he has fought the likes of Heffron and Skeete most likely won’t be overly anxious ahead of trading leather with a 10-0 prospect.

For Crocker it’s the ideal start to the New Year. Thain is somewhat of a name within boxing circles, has fought on big TV bills, challenged for domestic titles and if Crocker can perform against him he can take a significant stride forward.

One of two fight nights in Belfast on February 1 the card is starting to look like the 50-50 fest Jamie Conlan had promised.

The WBO European super-bantamweight clash between Davey Oliver Joyce and Lee Haskins, the fight between Sean McComb and Mauro Maximiliano Godoy and particularly the clash between Gary Cully and Joe Fitzpatrick already have fight fans excited.

Plus Steven Donnelly, Padraig McCrory, Dee Sullivan, Callum Bradley, Ruairi Dalton, Pierce O’Leary and Taylor McGoldrick have all already been confirmed to compete.

dpg

Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

x