Windsor Park unlikely to host Crocker-Donovan rematch

The rematch between Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan now looks unlikely to take place at Belfast’s Windsor Park with the city’s SSE Arena set to be the venue, promoter Eddie Hearn has said.

Limerick fighter Donovan was ahead on the judges’ scorecards in the IBF world welterweight title eliminator in March when he was disqualified for hitting Belfastman Crocker after the bell sounded for the end of the eighth round.

Donovan’s joint-managers Andy Lee and Keith Sullivan officially appealed for their fighter to be granted a rematch and the IBF upheld the request.

Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn made clear his desire that the rematch would take place at the home of Northern Ireland’s football team, which was officially renamed the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park earlier this month following the agreement of an eight-year sponsorship deal.

However Hearn now accepts that the prospects of the contest taking place at the outdoor venue are fading, with the fighters set to duel once more at SSE Arena.

“There’s now a very good chance it won’t be at Windsor. We will probably now do it at SSE Arena,” he told The Ring.

The promoter added that the return bout is likely to take place in “late August or maybe early September”.

Hearn said the fight would have to generate ticket sales in excess of 20,000 to make the outdoor option viable.

“The issue with going outside is, with the costs and everything, you’ve got to be doing more than 20,000 tickets to make the delta positive of doing it in an arena with 9,000. That’s a huge amount of tickets.

“Would it do 15 or 16,000? Probably. And don’t get me wrong, I love an outdoor show. But there’s also a lot to be said about going into an absolutely packed out arena.”