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Crocker has opportunities despite title loss

Image 1: Lewis Crocker and manager Jamie Conlan [left] Image source, No Limit Boxing

Image caption,

Crocker lost his title to Liam Paro by way of a unanimous decision in Brisbane

By David Mohan

BBC Sport NI journalist

Published 5 hours ago

Lewis Crocker's manager Jamie Conlan says there are opportunities for the former IBF welterweight champion but "back to Belfast would be key" for his ring return.

Crocker was dethroned by Australia's Liam Paro in Brisbane on Wednesday by way of a narrow unanimous points decision, but feels the Belfast man will be "10 times better" for the experience.

It was a fight in which Paro dominated early with Crocker coming on strong late and appeared close to finding the stoppage in the championship rounds, but Paro - a former light-welterweight world champion - rode out the storm.

The next move for Crocker will be crucial in order to get back into the world title mix, but Conlan is confident the 29-year-old will bounce back.

"We have a tentative plan in place," Conlan told BBC Sport NI.

"It seems everyone wants to come back to Belfast, so we are looking at dates before Christmas. I think that's best for us, best for Matchroom to come back here because Lewis Crocker is a superstar and will be a 10-times better fighter because of it [the defeat].

"'Croc' always wants big fights and we'll sit down over the next few weeks and see what's there. There are fights to be made easily like [Conah] Walker, but there appears to be an appetite further afield."

Paro dethrones Crocker to land welterweight title

*   Published 3 days ago

IBF welterweight title: Paro defeats Crocker on points - reaction

Crocker's performance may not have been enough to hold on to the title he won by way of a split decision over Paddy Donovan last September, but his manager feels it was more than enough to win some new admirers.

"I think he will get more credit for this fight than he did for the two Donovan fights, especially across the Atlantic," he continued.

"A lot of the American journalists had him winning, so there are opportunities there.

"One big win and we're back in the mix, so I think the IBF will do the right thing and rank him pretty high, but we will go again."

Home advantage would have made the difference

Crocker and his team had hoped to have a first defence in his native Belfast, but with the IBF enforcing a mandatory defence and Australian promoter No Limit Boxing winning a subsequent purse bidby edging out Matchroom by $27,000 (£20,000), the challenger enjoyed home advantage.

Conlan admits "it was always a tough ask going to Brisbane" but feels "if the fight was in Belfast, we would have won".

"We just got on with it," he said.

"Prior to it [travelling], it was annoying he had to go to Brisbane for his first defence but it was out of our control. All we could do is control the controllables, prepare the best, set up camp and he invested in himself.

"It's the fine margins at world level that win or lose a fight: the fine margin of it not being in Belfast, fine margin of certain moments towards the end when he was being held and looking for that one punch to find the stoppage.

"I thought the ref [Tony Weeks] was very poor with [Paro] headbutts throughout, low blows throughout and at the end with the holding, but credit where it's due: Liam was very good, very tough and resilient. He's a 140-pounder but fights at 147 against bigger boys and is able to tough it out."

Paro's fast start helped him build an early lead and he did enough to remain ahead by winning the 10th on all three of the cards, it ultimately left Crocker needing knockdowns to pull it back.

Had he made the better start, it could have been a different story, but his manager feels he "will have learned a lot from that fight against a serious world-class operator".

"It was really close," he reflected.

"He started a little bit slow and that's annoying him as he knows he had the tank to push on at the end. It was always in the locker and he just had to prove it to himself, but he will be a better fighter going forward.

"We just go back to the purse bid situation and if we had won that and had the fight here in Belfast, 100% he would still be world champion."

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*   Published 8 June

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Crocker has opportunities despite title loss

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Home advantage would have made the difference

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