Paddy Donovan admits that even though he has been granted a return with Lewis Crocker, it has been difficult to get over the first loss of his career.
On March 1, in a packed and atmospheric SSE Arena in Belfast, Donovan was disqualified when ahead on points having dropped Crocker heavily after the bell to close the eighth round.
He had put Crocker on the canvas shortly before, but Donovan had also been docked two points for previous infractions before referee Marcus McDonnell threw him out.
Until then, it had been the best performance of the Andy Lee-trained welterweight contender’s career.
“It’s been quite different. It’s been quite challenging to be fair,” Donovan, 14-1 (11 KOs), told BoxingScene of the aftermath. “It’s not what I was used to. I’m usually always getting congratulated after fights. Now this time around it’s, ‘Did you hear the bell? Did you hear the bell? Blah, blah, blah.’ So it’s been strange. It’s been difficult, I guess, but I kept as far away from social media as I possibly could. I just spent some good time with my kids and family. So I’m doing all right, I guess. But what I’ve heard everywhere I’ve gone, everyone I’ve met, they've all said it was wrongdoing and they kept asking when I was going to get the rematch. And obviously, thankfully, I got the rematch. Getting the rematch proves that the decision was quite wrong on the night.”
The 26-year-old southpaw said that while the eliminator is close to being set for September, back at the same venue, it has taken a while for him to draw any positives from what happened.
“Look, as the days went by, obviously, if you’re with your kids and things like that, you try to be as happy and try to be as cheerful as you can. But obviously, inside, I really hurt,” he added. “I was so close to fighting for the championship of the world. So then to be taken away in that eighth round in dramatic fashion was a crazy feeling. It was one that I found it very, very hard to get to grips with and to say like, to look back on exactly what happened, it's something a fighter doesn't really ever really think about is going to happen in a fight, really.”
As a consequence of the contest and the subsequent appeal, Donovan stayed out of the gym and said this has been the first time he has not been motivated to put on the gloves. Now, however, he can feel that changing.
“It’s right now,” he said. “I’ve been really low since the fight. I have not been one bit hungry. I’m going to be honest about it. I didn't even want to go to the gym, really. I don’t even want to train. It’s probably the first time in my career where I just wanted to knock off and not even look at the sport. It’s a different patch for me. But yeah, since the fight [the rematch] has been made and I see him [Crocker] getting tagged in bits and pieces on social media now and the fight's getting built up, I'm getting itchy knuckles to go back in. I have no worry about the fight. I feel like that if I just put the work in the camp, I'll be alright in the fight. But I just need to get my head back in the game, really.”
And the idea is to then put the Lewis Crocker chapter of his career to bed.
“Yeah, look, it’s time to get the job done good and proper this time and just move on,” he said, of boxing the eliminator again for the right to face champion Jaron Ennis. “Try to fight on from this for this world title.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.