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Illness forces Paddy Donovan to withdraw from IBF Welterweight World Eliminator January 16 versus Liam Paro in Australia
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 02 Jan 2026
NEW YORK CITY (January 1, 2026) – Irish welterweight contender Paddy “The Real Deal” Donovan (14-2, 11 KOs) has had to withdraw from his planned January 16th, 12-round International Boxing Federation (IBF) World Welterweight Title Eliminator against Australian Liam Paro (26-1, 16 KO) in Australia. Due to a significant illness that sidelined Donovan from training and sparring for more than three weeks, he had to withdraw.
The winner of the Jan. 16 fight between No. 2 rated Paro and No. 3 Donovan would have been designated as the No. 1, mandatory challenger for IBF Welterweight World Champion Lewis “The Croc” Crocker (22-0, 11 KOs), against whom Donovan has previously lost two highly disputed, heartbreaking matches in Crocker’s hometown in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Donovan has won 18 of 20 rounds versus Crocker only to be gutted once again, unable to fight in the IBF Eliminator.
“I’m extremely disappointed to have to withdraw from the fight,” Donovan said. “I was confident of beating Paro. I missed three weeks of training due to illness and my coach, Andy (Lee), took the decision out of my hands. I want to apologize to all the fans in Australia who were looking forward to the fight. I will be back stronger in 2026. I wish Paro well and hope that we can fight in the future.”
“If we don’t learn from our mistakes then we are doomed to repeat them,” added Lee, who also co-manages Donovan with NYC-based Atty. Keith Sullivan. “I’ve been in this situation before with my other boxers and it never goes well. There was no way Paddy could train and fight with the viral chest and respiratory infection he had, so I made the decision to pull him out of the fight. Paddy is still one of the best welterweights in the world with a huge future in the sport.”
Donovan should be back training soon and ready to get back in the ring by late March.
INFORMATION:
X: @PaddyDonovan23
Instagram: @paddy_realdeal_donovan
Facebook: /PaddyRealDealDonovan
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