Huge brawl breaks out at boxing fight after disqualification in controversial finish

Paddy Donovan thought he was on course to knock off Lewis Crocker in Belfast before he was disqualified as a brawl broke out in the stands of the SSE Arena in Northern Ireland

Paddy Donovan was disqualified during his bout with Lewis Crocker which led to a mass brawl at the SSE Arena in Belfast.

Eight thousand fans were present for the all-Irish showdown and Crocker had his hand raised after his opponent was disqualified for landing a punch after the bell had sounded. Donovan thought he had defeated Crocker after knocking down the home fighter for the second time at the end of the eighth round, but the referee disqualified him for his late shot.

Donovan, who hails from Limerick, broke down in tears as Crocker’s undefeated record was extended but in the stands a number of spectators clashed when the referee signalled Donovan had he’d been disqualified.

The Limerick man was fighting in his opponent’s backyard but was the busier of the two men in the opening round, using his jab, before Crocker fought back. A right hand to Crocker’s head drew blood after causing a cut above the Belfast man’s eye in the third.

Donovan was warned about leading with the head in the fourth round with the referee giving him a final warning, but he damaged under Crocker’s other eye with another strong punch. He was then deducted a point for leading with the head in the sixth.

Donovan was deducted another point in the eighth before tempers boiled over. Crocker was clearly struggling, but stayed on his feet until the bell sounded, when Donovan then hit him late on.

Promoter Eddie Hearn suggested a rematch could be on the cards as Donovan’s team prepared to lodge an appeal with the IBF. Crocker though is now the mandatory opponent for the IBF world welterweight title, which is currently held by American Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.

“The crowd is ferocious in here. They say I hit him after the bell, but I thought I hit him on the bell,” Donovan told DAZN. “You can see Lewis was a beaten man and I won the fight fair and square. The ref took my dreams away tonight.”

He also added: “We’re going to appeal the decision and I want an automatic rematch right on the spot.”

On the undercard, Padraig McCrory fell to an eighth-round loss to Craig Richards as the Londoner won with a strong body shot. Kurt Walker improved his record to 12-0 as the featherweight came through against former Anthony Cacace foe Leon Woodstock to win via majority decision. Steven Ward claimed the bragging rights in his all-Belfast clash against Tommy McCarthy with a sixth-round stoppage.