ENNIS’ Paddy Donovan suffered a controversial disqualification defeat in the final eliminator for the IBF World Welterweight title.
Donovan had two points deducted for head clashes with his opponent Belfast hometown hero Lewis Crocker earlier in the bout.
His finishing shot was delivered in the final seconds of the eighth round in what appeared to be a knockout victory but Donovan’s joy soon turned to despair when he was informed of his disqualification.
Croker is now the mandatory challenger for the IBF crown, which is currently held by Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, however there will certainly be calls for a rematch given the very controversial ending to this fight.
Paddy ‘Real Deal’ has been in the spotlight since arriving on the scene with three rapid-fire wins throughout the last three months of 2019. He is coached by Andy Lee and had fourteen wins from fourteen prior to the Belfast bout.
“I won the fight, I was winning every single round, I dropped Lewis, I was beating him up and I was getting the knockout, the crowd is ferocious in here, they said I hit him after the bell but I thought I hit him on the bell, you can see Lewis was a beaten man and I won the fight fair and square, the ref took my dreams away tonight,” a devastated Donovan said afterwards in the ring.
He said they are going to appeal the decision and seek a rematch.
