Paddy Donovan takes on Ukrainian Karen Chukhadzhian in a world title eliminator tonight at the SAP-Arena in Mannheim, Germany, with ringwalks for the main event expected around 10pm Irish time. DAZN will show the card live, with coverage beginning at 8.05pm Irish time.

For Donovan, the fight is a chance to reset after two defeats to Lewis Crocker in Belfast last year. He was controversially disqualified after striking Crocker after the bell in their first meeting last March, then lost via split decision at Windsor Park last September for the vacant IBF belt.

The Irishman said he and his team are ready for the task, saying: “We’re ready to get to work.” He added that they are there “to put on a big show” and described the bout as “a sink or swim fight” before insisting he is “not going to be sinking, I’m going to be swimming.” Donovan said he is “here to get the job done and move back to world honours.”

He also said he has enjoyed his time in Germany, calling it “one of the most beautiful places we have been so far” and adding that “everything has been absolutely perfect.” Donovan said he and his camp are “excited to see the venue, get in the ring and see what the German fans are all about.”

Chukhadzhian, 30, arrives with a different sort of momentum. He has never been stopped in 29 professional bouts, lost to Jaron “Boots” Ennis for a second time in November 2024 and has since won two fights. Those victories brought him the IBF and WBO International welterweight titles, giving him a sturdy platform heading into a fight that can change the shape of the division.

The stakes for Donovan are immediate. A victory could set up a trilogy fight with Crocker for the Belfast man’s IBF belt later this year, with Katie Taylor’s Croke Park card mentioned as a possible stage. That possibility gives tonight’s eliminator more than a place on the schedule; it gives Donovan a route back to the level he has been trying to reach ever since Belfast turned against him.

Chukhadzhian’s durability makes that route harder to travel. Donovan will have to solve a 30-year-old opponent who has gone the distance against elite opposition and has not been halted in nearly three dozen fights. If Donovan can do that in Mannheim, he does more than win a title eliminator. He keeps alive a year that could still end with a rematch that matters far beyond Germany.