Surprise Surprise – Out of the Blue All Irish Fights Confirmed for Crocker – Donovan Undercard
Eddie Hearn today confirmed two exciting all-Irish clashes for the undercard of one of the most eagerly anticipated all-Irish affairs in recent history.
During the official launch of Lewis Crocker versus Paddy Donovan in Belfast on Wednesday, Matchroom shared the top half of an exciting undercard.
In keeping with the domestic theme of the event and the derby narrative running through Irish boxing at present, Hearn confirmed Tommy McCarthy and Steven Ward will share the ring at the SSE Arena on March 1 as will old foes Ruadhan Farrell and Gerard Hughes.
While ‘El Nino’ and ‘Short Fuse were always going to rematch at some stage after their blood and guts draw on a Matchroom card in late 2023, the announcement still came as a surprise to some.
On the other hand McCarthy and Ward is a fight no one saw coming. The cruiserweights do have an amateur history – ‘Mac Attack’ defeating ‘The Quietman’ four times in the vest – but they were never linked as pros.
McCarthy gets a warm up on February 1 live on BBC while Ward will goes into the fight on the back of his summer 2024 defeat to the highly rated Juergen Uldedaj.
Since super bantamweight’s Farrell and Hughes last fought, IGB’s Farrell won two Fight of the Year contenders against Connor Kerr.
Hughes has had time out due to injury but goes into the clash with Andy Lee as his new coach. Jack O’Neill will continue his whirlwind start by appearing on the card, while Hearn revealed he is hoping to secure fights for Padraig McCrory, Caoimhin Agyarko and Kurt Walker.
