Lewis Crocker: ‘There’s a lot to gain from Barrow fight’, says IBF welterweight champion in Belfast

Belfast’s IBF welterweight world champion Louis Croker said he hopes a win over Australian Liam Barrow in his next fight will open the door to a unification bout with another beltholder in the division.

Crocker is set to defend his title in Australia, with May being the likely month for the contest and Townsville in Queensland looking like the likely venue.

The 29-year-old won the title after a split verdict over Paddy Donovan at Windsor Park in Belfast last September and his side were hoping to defend against mandatory challengers Barrow in their home city.

However, with no agreement reached between the two parties, the matter was resolved through a purse offer with no bid limits to Croker’s Matchroom promoter of $27,000 (£20,000).

When asked by BBC Sport NI’s Thomas Kean where he hoped a potential win over Barrow would lead him, Crocker replied: “The biggest fight possible. Unification, which is something I feel I deserve if I beat Barrow.”

“If you look at the names in the division as well, everything is huge. You have Garcia [Ryan, WBC champion]glad [Devin, WBO holder]Rolly [Rolando Romero, WBA champion] And Ben [currently ranked number one challenger by the WBC] There is a lot to be gained from this battle for the winner.

“Any of the big boys because it would be easy to achieve. We all want to unify the division, we all want to become undisputed.”