Making the case for a winner between Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan at the SSE Arena on Saturday night is a tough task, but their coaches have made a fair go of it as two camps brimming with confidence get set for war.

With both fighters undefeated heading into this all-Irish world title eliminator, victory is all they know and both are adamant they have more in their locker than the other.

Belfast's Crocker may have the lower knockout per centage with 11 of his 20 wins inside the distance, compared to 11 from 14 for the limerick man, but 'The Croc' carries the reputation of being the man with the dynamite in his fists.

Of course, this fight has many more caveats than brute force, but the ability to deliver, and more importantly, take a shot will go a long way to decide the winner and Crocker's coach, Billy Nelson, insists his man has the edge.

"There is no way Paddy Donovan punches any way near as hard as Lewis Crocker," said the Scot.

"Yes, he's a skilled fighter but this is a very skilled man (pointing at Crocker) - 100 amateur fights and lose 10. This is going to be a cracking fight, but Paddy Donovan is going to get stopped.

"The difference between the two fighters is, and no disrespect to the opposition, but Lewis Cocker is the more rounded professional. Paddy hasn't fought anybody in the top 30 or a fully-fledged welterweight and on March 1, he's going to find out what a fully-fledged welterweight is."

Crocker has more big-fight experience, having come through in his 'Battle of Belfast' against Tyrone McKenna in December 2023 and then headlined at the Ulster Hall the following month, but that is little more than circumstance in the opinion of Donovan's coach, Andy Lee. 

The former middleweight world champion believes this will be his fellow Limerick man's coming out party with any questions regarding his power, skill and superstar quality about to be answered.

"It's a huge opportunity for Paddy to announce himself on the world stage," said Lee.

"He's 26 - the perfect age for a welterweight coming into his maturity, physically and mentally - so this is the perfect time for him.

"It will be a tough fight as we're going into the cauldron as the away fighter, but in terms of the boxing aspect, Paddy Donovan is just too good. He's a generational talent and we'll see that on March 1. 

"We know Crocker is a big puncher, but people do know about Paddy's punching? Ask anyone who has sparred him or been in the ring with him. I would say he's the bigger puncher of the two of them. 

"Lewis has skill, but Paddy has a lot of power too. Lewis fights in bursts and spurts but is explosive when he does. I can just see Paddy timing him to the body or head as people don't understand how powerful he is."