Paddy Donovan eyes Conor Benn clash after Lewis Crocker rematch

Paddy Donovan has revealed that he would like to make a fight with Conor Benn if he can beat Lewis Crocker in their IBF welterweight title this weekend at Windsor Park.

The Irishman believes much bigger things lie ahead of him after his rematch with Lewis Crocker – Benn being one of them.

Donovan told Matchroom Boxing: “There are so many big opportunities when we get past Crocker, maybe Conor Benn.

“I think Conor Benn is another great fighter. I like watching his fights, he’s quite exciting. That’d be a fight I’d be interested in making."

Benn is currently tied up in camp for his blockbuster middleweight rematch with Chris Eubank Jr on November 15. But he has made it clear he intends to drop back down in weight after the fight and go for a world title at welterweight – his natural weight class.

These world title ambitions align almost perfectly with Donovan after his rematch with Crocker was upgraded from a final eliminator to a fight for the vacant IBF belt left behind by Jaron Ennis earlier this year – meaning that if Benn does not take a third fight with Eubank Jr, he could have his first crack at a world title against Donovan.

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But Donovan first has to get through Crocker in their groundbreaking first-ever all-Irish world title fight after their first fight ended in Donovan being disqualified. He was thrown out for hitting Crocker with a left hook after the bell that floored him in the eighth round.

Donovan had been dominating the fight until that point and was devastated to have the win taken from him in such circumstances, and has vowed to exact revenge this weekend.

Donovan’s coach, Andy Lee, has total confidence in his fighter and has previously branded him a “generational talent”.

Lee told Boxing Scene: “There’s just generational talents and you see guys like [Vasyl] Lomachenko who are genetically gifted and they have the boxing nuance and skill to go with it, just sometimes I’m watching him [Donovan], and it’s a pure pleasure to watch.”

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