The mission for Paddy Donovan to secure a third fight with Lewis Crocker is fifty per cent complete after a bizarre evening in Mannheim, Germany.

Donovan, without a win since May 2024, faced Ukrainian Karen Chukhadzhian in an IBF welterweight final eliminator at the SAP Arena — an arena which Google says has a maximum capacity of 15,000. Yet by the time the main event began, both fighters walked out to a deserted venue.

On paper this was the headline attraction, but the crowd had come for a night of heavyweight action which ranged from Victor Jurk’s one-punch knockout of Edwin Castillo to the chief support featuring 6ft 8ins, 27-year-old unbeaten prospect Emanuel Odiase against 38-year-old veteran Nick Webb, who was punched around before being stopped in the second round. Another example of why Webb should no longer be fighting.

Seeing is believing

It was not only an evening of boxing but also music and magic — yes, magic — which filled the gaps on a night that had to be seen to be believed.

For Donovan, the task was simple yet daunting: stop the rot of two defeats to Crocker and earn another shot at a world title.

The all-Irish clashes in March and September 2025 thrilled thousands first at The SSE Arena in Belfast — where Donovan lost via disqualification — and then outdoors at Windsor Park, where Crocker edged a surprisingly tactical rematch by split decision to claim the vacant IBF welterweight title. Crocker now travels to Australia to make a first defence against Liam Paro on June 24.

Any away assignment for a champion or contender can feel like an uphill battle given boxing’s long history of treating travelling fighters abysmally on the scorecards. Donovan could easily have fallen victim to such an injustice on Friday night were it not for two crucial moments.

The action was sporadic in the early stages, with Chukhadzhian — looking as though he had just stepped out of a Turkish barber’s — marching forward and applying pressure, albeit without much authority. Donovan may have been backed up, but he regularly found counters to disrupt the Ukrainian’s rhythm, with his sharper work loudly appreciated by trainer Andy Lee in the corner.

Chukhadzhian (26-4, 14 KOs) was often left out of range and caught between attacking and hesitating. Donovan was quicker, sharper and possessed the greater ring IQ. The home fighter’s work lacked finesse, whereas the Irishman’s eye-catching counters were the cleaner, more meaningful scoring shots.

Punch or push?

After five rounds I had Donovan ahead 4-1 and, in the sixth, the Limerick man stamped his authority on the contest when he spun Chukhadzhian and landed a left hand that dropped the former world title challenger.

Two rounds later there appeared to be another 10-8 session when the home fighter was ruled to have been knocked down again. Despite it looking more like a push than a punch, referee Diana Drews Milani called it a knockdown and administered a count.

Chukhadzhian grew stronger as the fight wore on and landed with greater frequency, but the bar had been set so low early on that even a slight increase in output represented improvement. Donovan, however, remained a step ahead and possessed the punch selection to stop Chukhadzhian in his tracks.

After 12 rounds, and nearing 1:30am, Donovan (15-2, 11 KOs) was awarded a majority decision by scores of 115-111, 114-112 and 113-113. Frankly atrocious scoring in a fight where Chukhadzhian won, at most, three rounds.

The scores themselves were ultimately irrelevant to Donovan and his team because the result was all that mattered. Victory propels him back into contention; defeat would have been catastrophic.

Beforehand, two of Chukhadzhian’s three defeats had come against former unified champion Jaron Ennis — a man touted as a future pound-for-pound number one. The Philadelphian has since moved up to super-welterweight, but Donovan’s future remains at 147lbs and his target remains Lewis Crocker.

Speculation has linked a trilogy fight to the undercard of Katie Taylor’s farewell bout at Croke Park later this year. Donovan has now done his part of the bargain, but Crocker’s side of the equation appears far more dangerous with Liam Paro standing in the way.

Donovan seems hell-bent on proving he can beat Crocker fair and square, but the endgame should be a world title regardless of who is holding it.

We are halfway to Crocker-Donovan III — but Liam Paro will have other ideas.

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