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Lewis Crocker-Liam Paro: What next for both men after former loses title?
Lewis Crocker's reign as IBF welterweight champion was cut short on Wednesday night in Queensland after he suffered a tough loss against Liam Paro.
Having only earned his stripes with a rematch victory against old rival Paddy Donovan last September, 'The Croc' had saught a successful first defence.
Instead, he found himself edged by a narrow unanimous decision in Brisbane, handing home hero Paro two-weight champion status in his back yard.
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So what comes next for both men after their bout at Pat Rafter Arena? DAZN News outlines the options that face each fighter and what they may do.
Lewis Crocker
Having been forced to originally delay plans to face Paro after an injury setback, Crocker ultimately left it too late to sway the oncoming tide down under.
A marginal outsider despite the belt on his waist, the Belfast man suffered a first professional loss as he came agonisingly close to retaining his crown.
For now, the star - who switched trainers after his win over Donovan - will take time on the journey home. But his hunger will undoubtedly drive him on.
A lower-wattage comeback fight seems likely, before Crocker attempts to make inroads with the sport's four major sanctioning bodies and get back on top.
Liam Paro
Having previously reigned a division below, success for the Australian delivers another triumph to what is a flourishing domestic scene back home in the ring.
With it though, Paro has also played spoiler on what the matchmakers might have most wanted from this particular contest - Crocker-Donovan III to follow.
With the latter having earned mandatory status in a final eliminator, it seems the only course Paro faces is to entertain the brash fighter in a full title battle.
It will be a test he surely relishes, after Donovan dropped out of a bout earlier this year - ironically in what was meant to be a final eliminator for Crocker's belt.
Zayas vs. Ennis - watch only on DAZN
Xander Zayas defends his WBO and WBA super welterweight titles against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis on Saturday, June 27, exclusively live on DAZN. Buy as a one-off PPV or included, along with Joshua vs. Prenga (July 25) and Canelo vs. M'billi (Sept 12) PPVs, with a DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription.
