IBF welterweight world champion Lewis Crocker has confirmed Huzaifah Iqbal as his head coach, following his split with Billy Nelson.
Last week, Nelson revealed he and the IBF welterweight champion had parted ways, responding to a query on X about the Belfast man’s next move, saying “Lewis has moved on to a coach in London”.
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That coach is Surrey-based Iqbal, who coaches Lisburn featherweight Kurt Walker and also worked with Michael Conlan when the Belfast man was trained by Adam Booth.
Crocker also had a brief spell with Booth before making the switch to work with Nelson in 2023, fighting eight times under the Scot including his world title victory over Paddy Donovan at Belfast’s Windsor Park in September.
However, the 29-year-old has decided to start afresh and on Wednesday, confirmed his new coach on social media.
“Happy to announce that I’ll now be training under ‘hboxinguk’ (Iqbal) – looking forward to the journey ahead, exciting times,” he posted.
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“Would like to thank Billy for everything, grateful for the great nights we had.
“Fight news coming soon.”
Crocker’s first defence of the world title is expected to be announced soon with former opponent Conah Walker – whom he defeated in a thriller back in June 2024 – and Jack Catterall the leading contenders to provide the opposition in a voluntary defence.
Should he prevail, a mandatory defence is expected, but the prospect of a third meeting with Donovan now looks remote in the short term, with the Limerick man pulling out of his final eliminator against Liam Paro in Australia on 16 January through illness.