Gavan Casey

HOW OFTEN DO we see it in professional boxing where one up-and-comer says of the other, ‘He needs me, I don’t need him’?

Or there is the respectful alternative between two fighters billed by the public as domestic rivals but who are quietly fond of each other: ‘Let’s do it for a world title down the line.’

Limerick’s Paddy Donovan and Belfast’s Lewis Crocker have never bothered with such soundbites. They are domestic rivals who might even dislike each other more privately than they let on publicly.

‘The Real Deal’ and ‘Croc’ are each unbeaten prospects with welterweight supremacy in sight. And their attitude has been, simply, ‘Feck a world title. Let’s do it ASAP.’

Their headline meeting at the SSE Arena in Crocker’s hometown of Belfast on 1 March has been billed by promoters Matchroom as ‘Point of Pride’.

It’s more than that, though: the bout has been officially upgraded to an eliminator for the IBF 147-pound title currently held by American Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.

And Donovan, a Traveller who incidentally was born in Ennis, Co. Clare but has been a Limerick man since childhood, sees added significance even beyond world-title gold: the Andy Lee-trained stylist spots an opportunity to cement his place as Ireland’s flagship male boxer.

“There’s something different about a good Irish fighter and I believe I’m the next,” says Donovan (14-0, 11KOs).

“I think having turned pro at 19 and now 25, it took many life changes since turning pro… It’s so much what I’ve learned in the gym that counts the most, as it is the ups and downs of life — becoming a husband and father, losing loved ones — that helped me to improve.

“I’ve improved as a person and that helped me become a better fighter.”

Donovan’s ‘Real Deal’ moniker naturally carries with it a weight of expectation.

Some boxers have worn it well. Evander Holyfield remains the sport’s only four-time world heavyweight champion. More recently, we’ve learned all about Amanda Serrano’s greatness.

But there is a poignant subtext to Donovan’s nickname in that it was chosen by his dear friend and fellow Limerick boxer, the late Kevin Sheehy, a five-time Irish-champion heavyweight who in a better world would have competed for Ireland at the Tokyo Olympics.

Sheehy, who grew up in boxing alongside Donovan, was murdered while walking along Hyde Road in his hometown on 1 July 2019. He was 20. He never met his daughter, who was born after he died.

Sheehy’s killer, Logan Jackson, is currently serving a life sentence in prison.

“Kevin and I had a very close relationship since the age of 14″, Donovan explained to The 42 last year. “Coming up at the same amateur gym; and not just at club level, but we were together on international duty for Ireland as well, so the bond was really, really close.

“His death came as a shock to us all, obviously.

“Just before Kevin passed away, I was getting ready to turn professional with Andy (Lee), and Andy said to me, ‘Paddy, what nickname are you going to pick?’

“So, we came up with a few suggestions but Andy said, ‘Stick it on your Instagram story and see what kind of response you get.’

“I was getting hundreds of messages suggesting what name to pick. But then Kevin text me: he messaged me on Instagram, messaged me on Facebook, and sent me another private message! And he kept saying in the messages, ‘Paddy, “Real Deal” is the name for you.’

“We were joking about it and didn’t take it too seriously. But obviously, when he passed a few days later, there was no longer a question as to what nickname to pick. There was no other choice to be made: it had to be ‘The Real Deal’ for Kevin.”

Donovan will learn on 1 March, when he pits his wits against the supremely talented Belfast warrior Crocker (20-0, 11KOs), if his old pal was onto something.

Crocker contends that Donovan might instead be little more than a “pretty boy” — his former promoter Bob Arum once proclaimed Donovan the best-looking boxer since Muhammad Ali.

Both he and Donovan are world-ranked by three of the four recognised sanctioning bodies, Crocker slightly more highly on aggregate, but reality will present itself one way or another in just over two months’ time.

“It’s great to be ranked so highly at this stage of my career, but I am ranked where I am supposed to be,” Donovan says. “To be ranked so high in three major sanctioning bodies is brilliant. I know I will not stop until I’m world champion.

“I am always in the gym and thinking about my next challenge. I’m saying, ‘It’s time.’

“I love what I do. I’m very grateful to God for being in this position. I believe in God’s plan for me to become world champion.”

Of course, to paraphrase Mike Tyson, God always has a plan until a boxer is punched in the face.

“It’s going to be an explosive fight for sure,” says New York City lawyer Keith Sullivan, who co-manages Donovan with his trainer, Andy Lee. “Two tough, rugged Irishmen with a lot to prove to the world.”

Just over a fortnight later, in Sullivan’s hometown, Cork native Callum Walsh (12-0, 10KOs) will likely take to the ring for a St Patrick’s Weekend showpiece in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Walsh — like Donovan, Crocker, and their fellow blue-chip prospects Aaron McKenna (middleweight — 19-0, 10KOs) and Pierce O’Leary (light-welterweight: 16-0, 9KOs) — is within his rights to believe himself the man to lead Irish professional boxing into a new era.

There will soon be a void left by Katie Taylor, and most of the aforementioned boxers could theoretically face each other in the ring should they ever find each other in the way.

More likely, though, is that they’ll support each other and try not to interfere with the plans of their contemporaries: Irish boxers, most of them perennial underdogs once they break through the bottleneck, simply like to see each other do well.

All of which makes Crocker v Donovan in Belfast more awkward, and more special, for the neutral. It’s an outlier in that each of them would love nothing more than to tear the other down. Donovan is even willing to travel to Crocker’s backyard to do it.

It’s not often you get to say it of a bout between two Irish boxers approaching world-class level, but somebody’s ‘O’ has got to go.