Matchroom Lose Purse Bids – Lewis Crocker Heading Down Under for First Defence
Lewis Crocker will make the first defence of his IBF welterweight world title in Australia.
The Belfast boxer had been ordered to defend against Liam Paro after Paddy Donovan was forced to withdraw from his proposed January 16 eliminator with the Australian favourite.
And after the teams couldn’t agree on terms, the bout went to purse bids, where Paro’s promoters, No Limit, beat Matchroom with a bid believed to be in the region of 1.5m Australian dollars.
That purse bid victory means the former light welterweight world champions’ team will call the promotional shots.
There has been a suggestion that they are looking at Las Vegas options, but confirming the news online, they have mentioned an Australian world title fight.
“No Limit Boxing has secured promotional rights to Liam Paro’s IBF world title challenge, successfully winning the official purse bid overnight to lock in a blockbuster world championship bout on Australian soil,” they posted.
“As the mandatory to IBF champion Lewis Crocker, Paro will finally have the opportunity to fight for a world title in Australia, after previously defending his IBF crown overseas.
“Final dates, venue and event details will be announced shortly.”
Had Crocker’s promoters, Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom, won the bid, the contest would have taken place at the SSE Arena in Belfast on 18 April.
The 29-year-old has yet to make a defence, meaning his last fight was his September victory over Donovan in front of a sold-out Windsor Park crowd in September.
