SATURDAY night finished in a mess and it’s a mess is going to take a bit of cleaning up. A cloud of mixed emotion hung over the SSE Arena. Disappointment, relief, frustration, anger, sadness, pride… Relief for the Lewis Crocker camp because their man somehow got out of there with a victory despite getting a boxing lesson from Paddy Donovan.

Lewis Crocker has shared a photo showing the injuries he suffered in his fight with Paddy Donovan. The Belfast man is now the mandatory challenger for the IBF world welterweight title after Donovan was disqualified from their Belfast showdown for hitting Crocker after the bell had sounded in the eighth round.

Billy Nelson is fully focused on a world title bid for Lewis Crocker with the Belfast man now a mandatory challenger for a shot at the IBF

Lewis Crocker had his hand raised against Paddy Donovan after the Limerick man was controversially disqualified

Promoter Eddie Hearn was last night caught in a crossfire, but came out admitting he felt it was only fair that Paddy Donovan landed a rematch with Lewis Crocker

Belfast's Lewis Crocker wins a dramatic IBF eliminator against Paddy Donovan after his opponent is disqualified for delivering a punch after the bell at the end of the eighth round.

The Limerick southpaw, who was docked two points for leading with his head in the fight, dominated the IBF world welterweight title final eliminator at Belfast's SSE Arena from start to finish, but was disqualified after punching Crocker after the bell sounded at the end of the eighth round.

Paddy Donovan was disqualified for hitting Lewis Crocker after the bell in the eighth round of their IBF world welterweight title final eliminator on Saturday night

Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan will look to usher in a new era for themselves and Irish boxing in a blockbuster IBF welterweight final eliminator

Limerick fighter Paddy Donovan says he has already requested a rematch after his controversial disqualification in his IBF world title eliminator against Lewis Crocker.