Belfast's Lewis Crocker stops Mexico's Jose Felix in the fifth round

Lewis Crocker v Jose Felix: Belfast welterweight maintains unbeaten record with early KO

Belfast's Lewis Crocker knocked out Mexico's Jose Felix in the fifth round of their welterweight contest to extend his record to 19-0 as a professional.

The 27-year-old Crocker produced a fine left hook in round five to stop Felix and claim his 11th victory by knockout. But he was unable to pick up the vacant WBO Intercontinental welterweight title after he missed the weight on Friday.

The current WBA continental European champion will have his sights set on world honours in the not-so-distant future after another impressive victory.

"It was a great night, the atmosphere was electric as it always is in Belfast and I got the win in good fashion, so it couldn't have gone better," Crocker told BBC Sport NI.

The first and second rounds were rather uneventful, with Crocker walking down the visitor and assessing his foe. 

Felix was on the backfoot from the very start and landed a nice right to the body in the third before being deducted a point for two low blows. "The Croc" wouldn't allow his man any breathing space and he wasn't affected by any of the return fire, smiling whenever he was hit.

In the fourth Crocker was firmly in his stride, able to back his man up to the ropes whilst blocking everything with a strong, tight guard. After a succession of clubbing blows, Crocker sent the 31-year-old tumbling to the canvas midway through the round, then he took his time trying to patiently catch up his mobile Mexican, but didn't rush his work.

In the fifth round, Felix tried to roll under a left hook then pivot to his right but another wide left hook caught him on his way out, unawares. He went down heavily into the bottom ropes and even though he returned to his feet somehow, but referee Marcus McDonnell had seen enough and deemed him in no position to continue.

When asked about missing weight, Crocker admitted that he was disappointed in the way in which it has been portrayed.

"When I got the phone call I said 147 lbs [10st 5lb] would be tight for me," he conceded.

"I hadn't trained in five weeks, but they [Felix's camp] said the weight wasn't an issue. I went down to 154 lbs, 152 lbs and 150 lbs. Everything they asked, I did."

Crocker continued: "I came into fight week a bit heavier because of the five weeks [off] but the BBBofC [British Boxing Board of Control] wouldn't let me go under 150 lbs.

"I don't want people thinking I was unprofessional, it was not my fault."

Lewis Crocker confirmed that Paddy Donovan could be a potential next opponent, but that "everything has to be right" for both parties as he prepares for some time off.

"We both need to be looked after for it as we both know how big a fight it is, but we're willing to fight each other."

Undercard

There were some impressive performances on the undercard too, with Lisburn's Kurt Walker moving to 10-0 after a points victory over the tough Darwing Martinez.

Limerick's Paddy Donovan secured a 10th knockout, moving to 13-0 after beating Williams Andres Herrera.

But Belfast's Tommy McCarthy suffered defeat in front of his hometown fans, losing via fourth-round stoppage to Cheavon Clarke.