Irish welterweight contender Paddy Donovan Positioned for another World title shot
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 17 Oct 2025
IBF World Title Eliminator announced for Donovan & Liam Paro
NEW YORK CITY (October 16, 2025) – The path is now clear for Paddy “The Real Deal” Donovan (14-2, 11 KOs) in terms of his next potential world title shot with the International Boxing Federation’s (IBF) announcement of its World Welterweight Title Eliminator between Donovan and Liam Paro (26-1, 16 KO). The winner will become the mandatory challenger for IBF Welterweight World Champion Lewis “The Croc” Crocker (22-0, 11 KOs).
Donovan, 26, from Limerick, Ireland, recently suffered two disputed losses to Crocker, of Belfast. The first was an eight-round disqualification in their IBF World Title Eliminator, followed by a rematch this September, thanks to Team Donovan’s winning appeal, where Crocker won a split decision for the vacant IBF Welterweight World Championship.
Their second meeting was no less controversial. Crocker emerged with a narrow points victory with judges scoring it 115-111 (Reece Carter), 112-114 (Pawel Krdyni), and 113-114 (Matteo Montella). The decision sparked an immediate outcry from fans and boxing media; many of whom believed Donovan had done enough to win. In response, Donovan’s manager filed an appeal with the IBF, asking the sanctioning body to review the scoring and to keep Donovan ranked No. 3, which is a crucial position that preserves his path toward another world title opportunity rather than seeing him dropped from contention.
After considering the appeal, the IBF’s determined that Donovan shall maintain his No. 3 ranking and that the two highest-rated available welterweight contenders -- Paro at No. 2 and Donovan at No. 3 – participate in an IBF mandatory eliminator to determine the mandatory challenger for the No. 1 position.
“Massive thanks to the IBF,” Donovan said. “They took their time to look at the appeal and made the right decision. That means a lot to me. I’ve huge gratitude to my management team, Keith Sullivan over in New York, and Andy Lee here at home in Ireland. They never stopped fighting for me. I couldn’t ask for better people in my corner. Keith’s a brilliant lawyer and manager who put in another top-class appeal. This has only fired me up even more. I’m back chasing that world title, and when I get there again, there’ll be no questions left.”
A former IBF Light Welterweight World Champion from Australia, Paro moved up in weight to welterweight in September, defeating David Papot (30-1-1, 5 KOs) by way of a 12-round unanimous decision.
“The sport should acknowledge an organization like the IBF that was willing to correct an error,” commented Donovan’s co-manager Sullivan (along with head trainer Lee), who wrote and presented the appeal. “President Daryl Peoples and Ratings Chairperson Ben Keilty handled the review with professionalism and integrity, but the bigger issue remains – our scoring system needs reform. Whether it’s expanding to five judges or integrating technology, something must be done
“Paddy’s performance over these last two fights showed he won 18 of 20 rounds, and he deserves another shot at the world title. Paddy and Andy can hold their heads high; they’ve carried themselves with class through a difficult few weeks.
“I’ve said it before, true fighters don’t dwell on setbacks, they use them. The IBF did right by Paddy and now it’s time for him to get back in the ring and seize the opportunity. The focus now is on moving forward and securing the title eliminator bout that Paddy deserves. He’s one of the most exciting talents in world boxing and his time is coming.”
All negotiations must be concluded by October 30, 2025. If either Paro or Donovan decline to participate in negotiations, his ranking will drop to below No. 10 for at least six months and the next available boxer in line will be offered the opportunity to enter the elimination process. Neither fighter may take an intervening fight until the Eliminator process is concluded.
INFORMATION:
X: @PaddyDonovan23
Instagram: @paddy_realdeal_donovan
Facebook: /PaddyRealDealDonovan
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