Lewis Crocker will make history as one half of the first-ever world title fight between two Irishmen when he faces Paddy Donovan for the IBF welterweight strap Saturday night at Windsor Park in Belfast.

And it will keep up the family tradition of starring in culturally significant boxing matches given what his sister Alanna Nihell (nee Audley-Murphy) was involved in on Halloween night in 2001.

That night she boxed none other than Katie Taylor, who would go on to turn professional after winning five world amateur championships and one Olympic gold medal. Taylor has since been undisputed at two weights in the paid ranks, but that bout with Nihell nearly 24 years ago is still one of the most important of her career.

In a groundbreaking encounter for the sport, Taylor and Nihell clashed in what was the very first sanctioned bout in Ireland for female fighters.

Nearly a quarter of a century later, Nihell’s younger brother Crocker will assume centre stage for another noteworthy moment in Irish sporting history.

“I’m very proud that the very first all-Irish world title fight is in Belfast,” Crocker said. “Katie Taylor and my older sister Alanna were the first two females to fight in a sanctioned fight in Ireland so it’s history being made again. I’m very proud of that.

“I was only a kid when they had that fight. I got into boxing because of my sister Alanna, so it’s great to keep going at it. She’s a boxing coach now, so it still runs in the family.

“This event means the world to me and my family. It also means everything to Belfast. For Belfast to get another world champion would be exceptional, and it gives other fighters opportunities to fight on big cards. It would be a dream to become world champion.”

Crocker was well behind on all three scorecards when Donovan was controversially disqualified for flooring him moments after the bell to end the eighth round. As such, the Belfast man is a huge underdog in the rematch with his rival from Limerick.

However, it was put to Crocker that if he pulls off the upset and becomes the IBF welterweight champion, he will instantly become the torch bearer for boxing on the island.

“It’s crazy to think that because I was always the kid in the crowd watching those fights,” he said. “To hold the torch as such would be unreal, but that’s what it’s all about. That’s what you get into boxing for, and you want to be in these positions. It would mean the world to me.”