Eddie Hearn Rejects ‘Robbery’ Claims After Historic Belfast Showdown
Eddie Hearn has dismissed any Crocker-Donovan robbery talk.
The Matchroom boss says suggestions that victory was stolen from Paddy Donovan after Lewis Crocker was crowned the new IBF welterweight champion in Belfast on Saturday night are wide of the mark.
The Belfast side of the rivalry edged a split decision at Windsor Park, with two of the three judges siding with the Crocker. The victory came in the pair’s historic rematch — the first ever all-Irish world title fight — after Donovan had been disqualified in their controversial first meeting back in March.
While the Limerick southpaw and his supporters left frustrated, feeling he had done enough to claim the belt, Matchroom boss Hearn insisted the decision was a fair one.
“Really difficult to score,” Hearn admitted. “I felt Crocker won the second, sixth and 12th rounds, along with the two 10-8 rounds for the knockdowns. That’s 114-113 to Lewis Crocker. But the 12th round could have gone either way, the second was very tight, and there were a lot of close rounds.”
Online, a portion of fans claimed the Limerick star had been robbed, but Hearn was quick to push back.
“I was shocked that a lot of scorecards had Donovan up by a few after nine or ten rounds. I just couldn’t see how that was physically possible,” he said. “Donovan did win a lot of rounds — but after the two knockdowns, it’s a really tough fight to win from there.
“If Crocker had lost by a point, he wouldn’t be calling it a joke. He’d have said, ‘I nicked it, but it could have gone either way.’ That tells you it was that kind of fight. A point either way, maybe I could see Paddy Donovan by one, but definitely not a robbery.”
The Matchroom chief said the fight was too tight to confidently call either way inside the ring on the night.
“To be honest, when I got in the ring, I had absolutely no idea who had won,” he added. “But if you like the eye-catching shots, they came from Lewis Crocker. Paddy boxed really well. He’s a great fighter. But it wasn’t a robbery.”
Crocker now moves forward as Ireland’s newest world champion, with, according to Hearn, potential fights against Conor Benn, Devin Haney, Rolly Romero or even Teofimo Lopez on the horizon.
