'Real Deal' Donovan returns to in ring action in Belfast

NEWLY-crowned World Boxing Association (WBA) Continental Welterweight Champion, rising Irish star Paddy ‘The Real Deal’ Donovan (12-0, 9 KOs), returns to action this Saturday night, January 27 at Ulster Hall in Belfast to make his first title defense against Williams Andres Herrera (15-2, 6 KOs) in a 10-round fight streaming live on DAZN.

Donovan, who celebrated his 25th birthday earlier this month, has also cracked the world ratings at No. 13 in the WBA, the result of his sensational fourth-round stoppage of English welterweight champion Danny Ball last November 25 in Dublin on a card headlined by the Katie Taylor-Chantelle Cameron rematch.

Southpaw Donovan, who turned pro in 2019, boxed in his amateur days out of Limerick's Our Lady of Lourdes St Saviours Boxing Club. Donovan is a 13-time Irish national amateur champion.

"I’m going into this fight with a new belt and ranked 13th in the world,” Donovan said. “I’m really hungry to just keep getting fights to keep shining on big stages. I love fighting, I love being the centre of attention.

"I want to be world champion in the next 12 to 15 months. I’m building my resume under WBA sanctioning and Eimantas Stanionis, from Lithuania, is the WBA Welterweight Champion. So, I’ve got my eye on him."

Former world middleweight champion, Limerick man, Andy Lee, is Donovan's head trainer and also co-manages Donovan with New York City-based lawyer Keith Sullivan.

Fighting out of his native Argentina, Herrera is a 27-year-old former International Boxing Federation (IBF) Latino Super Welterweight Champion, whose 12-fight win streak was snapped in his last fight by way of a 10-round unanimous decision to Josh Wagner (16-0).