ANDY LEE plans to break out the bubbly if Paddy Donovan can burst Lewis Crocker.
The rivals meet in a rematch at Windsor Park on September 13 in the first all-Irish world title fight in history.
Paddy Donovan fights Lewis Crocker in a highly anticipated rematch on September 13Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Andy Lee revealed what fans can expect from the boutRamsey Cardy/Sportsfile
It is also a first world title shot for both men and top-rated coach Lee is predicting “a hell of a night”.
But the man who won his own belt in Las Vegas — claiming the WBO middleweight crown with a stoppage victory over Matt Korobov 11 years ago — stops short of saying Sin City trumps Belfast for late-night party options.
The former southpaw slugger said: “There’s no nightlife — when you win you just go to bed.
“There might be this time, we’ll probably celebrate this one. If he wins. I’m not counting my chickens but we’ll probably have a few bottles of champagne or something.”
The first bout ended in a technical victory for Crocker when Donovan was disqualified for an after-the-bell punch following the eighth round.
A rematch seemed inevitable from the moment ref Marcus McDonnell waved it off.
And when IBF belt holder Jaron Ennis vacated the championship to move to light-middleweight, a historic night was set in stone.
Should the fight itself — indiscipline aside — follow the first one, Team Donovan reckon they will be popping corks afterwards.
On what to expect from Crocker, Lee told The Rocky Road podcast: “For us it’s be ready for anything and expect everything.
“I think he probably will do the same thing he did last time but probably try to be better at it.
“The history of boxing tells you that you can’t completely change your style.
“You fight the way you fight. If you’ve been fighting one way all of your life and then to change in the most important fight of your career, go to a style you’re not familiar with, it just doesn’t make sense.
“I assume he’s going to fight the exact same way as he always fights but he’ll try to be better. And he will be better.”
Lee has his own experience of a rematch. The rising middleweight fell to his first pro defeat against Brian Vera in 2008 but avenged that 3½ years later.
While his man Donovan is also seeking revenge, the Limerick coach brushed aside any other similarities.
He added: “Yeah, there was a lot of time in between [the Vera fights].
“I think again it will be cagey at the start but then the physicality of the fight is what separates the two of the fighters in a way because Paddy is conditioned — Crocker is conditioned — but I think the weight cut hurts him a lot.
“And I think he’s got three or four unbelievably good rounds in him and then there’s a drop-off and then he’s probably got like 30 or 40 seconds of each round. So Paddy can sustain it and Paddy holds back a little bit early in the fight to pick up coming down the stretch.
“Crocker probably does the same but he’s definitely got a drop-off in his performance due to, I wouldn’t say condition, I’d say the weight cut affects him and the fight itself — the punishment, how he fights — he throws all big heavy shots.
“You can’t do that for three minutes. It’s all a hard punching.”
SETTING THE PACE
In the first fight Crocker — as the older man at 28 with more fights and more knockouts — was expected to impose himself, especially on his own turf.
But Donovan set the pace from the opening bell and looked the superior athlete on the night.
Two judges had him six points up at the time of the DQ, with another having him two points in front.
The Clare/Limerick man came out with his reputation enhanced. And while the mood in his dressing room was gloomy immediately afterwards, Lee always felt another opportunity would come their way.
He added: “It’s come from the lowest point for Paddy to something to really aspire for and get motivated for. So it was an obvious fight to make.
“I mean it’s Windsor Park, it’s going to be packed — close to a sell-out I’d say — and it will be one hell of a night.”
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