WITH the pressure to deliver something major in front of a packed out Ulster Hall as a headline attraction on a Matchroom card, Lewis Crocker did just that to finish Jose Felix in the fifth round on Saturday night.

A buzz had been building around the Sandy Row man following his win over Tyrone McKenna in December and to keep that show in the road, he needed to make a statement which he did, a knockdown in the fourth to the body followed by the sledgehammer left that closed the show in the following session.

Yes, there was the weight issue that saw Crocker unable to win the vacant WBO Inter-Continental welterweight strap due to the British Boxing Board of Control mandating he weigh-in on Friday no lower that 150lbs, three above the championship limit due to his check weight earlier in the week being too high, but to balance, he was unable to rehydrate for fight night as normal to balance the matter.

Felix was also making his first appearance as a welterweight having mostly campaigned in the divisions below.

"Five weeks out, I said I'm not doing 147, but (making) the weight is not an issue," said Crocker after, eager to address the issue.

"It was - 'can you do 152?' It's 152. 'Can you do 150?' It's 150. Everything kept changing and then once the Mexicans were kicking off, I said I would do 147.

"I got in on fight week and did the check weigh-in and the British Boxing Board of Control stepped in and said I couldn't do below 150.

"I did every rehydration clause and everything asked of me, so I'm not unprofessional and hate the way (it's been portrayed) I missed weight as they knew about this the whole time.

"All eyes were on me, so hopefully we'll bring the big nights back to the Ulster Hall and SSE (Arena). There crowd was there last month, here again tonight and we'll build from this and Belfast can get behind me.

"A shout-out to Jose Felix who is a tough fighter."

Tough is exactly what he was as the Mexican proved yet again he is a superb fighter, but on the night he was unable to deal with Crocker's power with the left hand in particular a potent weapon.

It was this that eventually saw the end, but throughout the contest, Crocker's left hand was breaking the visitor down.

"It was a good performance and I'm looking forward to the next one," said the 27-year-old.

"My relentless pressure gets people tired and I was making the slight adjustments when he was throwing the overhand right.

"I could see he was getting flustered, so I was just taking my time. I felt string in there, felt fit and even with the rehydration clause, I still felt strong when I would usually come in (on fight night) heavier."

Felix more than played his part in this, opening brightly and did the better work off the ropes as the home favourite stalked him in the first and looked to have taken the second as he timed his work superbly as Crocker advanced. 

The Belfast man was beginning to get into a groove with a tight defence determined not to give anything away cheap as Gary Cully's loss to the same opponent was sound warning.

The third saw Crocker time a beauty of a left that clearly made a dent but Felix managed to ride that mini storm. However, his response was one blatant low blow followed hey a second that left referee Marcus McDonnell with no option but to dock a point.

The pendulum was firmly in Crocker's favour and he pressed home this advantage early in the next, a left to the body sending a distressed Felix down who somehow rose at the count of nine. 

The direction of travel was clear but Felix wasn't going quietly, as he got through with a meaty right in the fifth, but this battle of the bangers was to soon end as Crocker back up the visitor and the left hand, that had been a big weapon throughout,was detonated, landing on the jaw and the Mexicanwas down heavily.

Again, he somehow rose, but this time McDonnell wasn't prepared to let him continue, the fight waved off after 1.54 of the fifth to see Crocker improve to 19-0.

Crocker lands the left hand that ultimately closed the show
2Gallery

Crocker lands the left hand that ultimately closed the show

So what is next? There have been rumblings of a potential showdown with Limerick's Paddy Donovan - himself a winner by stoppage on the Ulster Hall card - and that is one that could be in the works given the noises coming from the promoter.

"I would love to see Paddy Donovan and Lewis Crocker," said Frank Smith, CEO of Matchroom Boxing who confirmed they are planning to return to Belfast again in the near future.

"People say we should wait for it, but so many of these fights don't happen when we wait for it. Someone loses, someone moves up in weight, so now is the time.

"There is so much pressure in this sport about losses early in a career, but if you take proper fights and go in there, give it everything, I think there are still going to be opportunities for you down the road."

Crocker is certainly open to the idea and feels it is a showdown that would need a much bigger venue given the interest it would generate.

There is always the temptation to let such a fight 'marinate', but as has been the case many times, it can also lead to the fight going off the boil, à la Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder, while the case of George Groves and James De Gale meeting early in their careers before both going onto win world titles proves that defeat at this stage for either is far from the end of the world.

"It's a 50-50 fight," Crocker opined.

"I can see ways Paddy can win and ways I can win. We're both very confident in ourselves.

"It's an SSE Arena fight. Paddy is 13-0 now but I think you can build it up another two fights (down the line) to make it exceptional.

"I hate talking like that as if I wouldn't fight him. I'd fight him next no problem and he would fight me, but you could really do this well and build it up so it becomes even bigger, but we'll see."

For now the Belfast man will enjoy a well-earned rest following a hectic run with five fights and wins in nine months that have put his career in a very favourable position.

"I might fight next week," he joked.

"No, I'm taking February off. My hands are still sore from the McKenna fight, so everything was so rushed. I can't give an answer, but I won't be fighting next week."