Liam Paro has signed a contract agreeing to travel to Puerto Rico to challenge IBF junior welterweight titleholder Subriel Matias in his home country.

Well, if social media is to be believed, anyway.

The 28-year-old Australian left-hander was unbeaten but unranked by The Ring. He had only fought twice in the past two and a half years, stopping former bantamweight Brock Jarvis in the first round and knocking out marginal contender Montana Love in the sixth. The consensus was that he had been in a bad shape and was far from home, so the judges would probably underestimate him if he somehow made it this far.

Matias’s reputation preceded him. This hazardous puncher won all but one fight, and each victory came by knockout. The only blemish on his record was a decision loss to Petros Ananyan. He took revenge for this defeat in a brutal way, with a nine-round beating.

The ferocious power and weighty punching power of the third contender for the Ring didn’t cause suitors to line up a mile deep to face him. The prospect of meeting the Puerto Rican in Puerto Rico didn’t sweeten the deal either.

But Paro jumped at the opportunity.

“I have always been good at focusing on the fight and blocking out the noise,” Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) said in an exclusive interview with The Ring about his unanimous points victory over Matias at the Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu in Manati on June 15.

“We had a task to do and we focused on it. We had a game plan that my coach, Alfie Di Carlo, came up with and we executed it perfectly.

“I was just excited, I thought to myself, ‘This is it, it’s time to show the world what I know,’ and what better way than to fight a guy no one wanted to face.

“Everyone avoided him. No one wanted to say his name. The sheer scale of this victory is crazy.”

Paro did a perfect job of it, boxing beautifully from a distance in the early going, standing in the trenches when he had to in the middle rounds, and then dictating the rhythm and tempo for the last four verses.

It was an almost virtuoso performance.

“It was perfect. I have to take my hat off to Alfie Di Carlo. His boxing intelligence, when it comes to that side of things, is incredible. His boxing IQ is top notch and I trusted him 100 percent,” Paro said.

“I knew I would have to fight against [Matias]. I couldn’t keep running. And when I did, I abused the bully.

“He was throwing punches, but I had an answer for everything. So I knew I was going to get punched in this fight. You can’t swim without getting soggy.

“We knew Matias’s fighting style, so I knew what I was getting into. I said that up front. The way we executed the plan was perfect.”

Di Carlo secured a comfortable lead in the middle rounds when it seemed for a moment that the fight might go to waste.

The Mackay-born fighter faced some weighty blows tardy in the sixth round, but an energetic motivational speech from the Brisbane lawyer and property developer stabilized the situation.

“Alfie is the best in the world,” Paro laughed as she recalled her coach’s colorful language. “We know each other really well and that’s what makes our bond special. An antique mate could hit me with a hammer and Alfie would still talk me into it.

“He said, ‘We’re in a fight, that’s all. Don’t give him a reason. It was pretty verbal, and that’s what it’s about.’

“He reminded me that this is what we do, this is what we dream of. This is it. Don’t give him anything. Don’t give him a reason. This is weathering the storm. But at the same time, Alfie keeps you silent in the corner, which is ideal.”

“We knew the way Matias fought, so I knew what I was getting into.[…]The way we executed the plan was perfect.”

Martial arts fans and experts gave Paro little chance of success, as did bookmakers, who estimated this contender at +600.

The outcry on social media turned into an amplified voice. The Australian was knocked out.

“You have met your executioner. He already killed a guy in the ring. Fortunately, there is a hospital nearby,” Di Carlo said on the local streaming service 7plus about negative comments that have appeared on the Internet.

“People really believed this guy was a killer; an absolute killer who had enough punching power to destroy any boxer.

“It was common knowledge that no one could keep up with this guy for 12 rounds. Nobody. And I think what Liam did, halving the effectiveness of the killer, showed what’s possible in boxing and the sweet science of it.

That he did it.

Paro’s punch was exact, his body attacks were consistent throughout all 12 rounds, and he varied his punch selection, keeping Matias guessing what was coming. As a result, Paro won a unanimous victory in the opponent’s territory with scores of 116-111, 115-112 and 115-112.

“Before the fight I said Liam Paro beats Subriel Matias,” Di Carlo continued. “They can say whatever they want now, but none of them wanted to. They were all offered the fight and they all said no.

“Liam did it. But it didn’t just throw him out. It’s not like Liam woke up in his bed in Brisbane that morning of the fight. We went there and moved our whole lives. We went into an atmosphere full of 10,000 screaming Puerto Ricans. They put us in a locker room that was like a bathroom stall with two-way doors. We had no privacy. So when I put my hand guards on, I moved them. I said, ‘This is a joke.’

“But we were basically in a bathroom stall with two-way doors, and people were running through all night to get to the ring. So everything was done to put us in a position where we were uncomfortable. But we never let any of that bother us. A normal person might, but we were focused on one thing, and that was winning the championship.”

Local referee Luis Pabon also did the guy no favors. He was already berating Paro in the corner in the second round, and in the seventh he deducted a point for what seemed like a fairly harmless rabbit punch in the clinch.

“You could see in the second round he was ready for me,” Paro said. “I watched the fight and even when we went into the break he was pushing me so Matias could get back on the attack. He was watching me like a hawk. Matias was hitting me like a rabbit too. But that’s the way it is. At the end of the day they tried everything. He gave it his all and I won. I think that makes the victory even sweeter.”

“Boxing is a mental game. I’ve been saying it for a long time, I have the best mind in this game. I have a very forceful mind and some people have asked me if I’m nervous about it. But you can’t be. You need to focus on work.

“I had a great fighter that I was boxing with, so I knew I had to stick to my game plan. I felt comfortable there, like we were going at it pretty easily. I knew if I kept doing what I had to do and kept it tidy, the referee wouldn’t be able to do much.

Before the fight, Paro told The Ring that he had no concerns about whether the judges would make the right call if the fight went forward. Still, he admits that waiting in the middle of the ring between the final bell and the announcement of the winner was tiring.

“I was convinced we had done enough; it seemed pretty one-sided,” he said. “But of course, those thoughts are in the back of your mind. We’re in his territory and we’ve seen some crazy talk in the dugout recently, so it was very stressful until I raised my hand and we heard the words, ‘And that’s news!’

Matias (20-2, 20 KO), 32, was so confident going into the fight that his team didn’t even insist on a rematch clause. That opened the door for Paro to make his maiden title defense at home in Australia, and if that happens, he only wants large names.

“Any one of these guys with belts,” Paro said. “I want to bring the large fight back to Australia. I am a proud Australian; we deserve large fights. Like I said, I’m a fighter and I will fight anyone. I’ve proven it and I’m still proving it. Bring them to Australia and I will fight them. As long as there is another lane, bring them in.”

A decade ago, luring a high-profile opponent to Australia would have been considered a pipe dream, but recently, state governments have shown a willingness to fund boxing events. Manny Pacquiao, Mairis Briedis, Devin Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko have all boxed here in recent years, so the idea of ​​luring someone like Ring Magazine and WBO champion Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) may not be as far-fetched as it initially sounds.

“There have been miniature conversations, the idea is floating around, but nothing has really been decided,” Paro said. “When I get back to Australia, we’ll start pushing and start something, we’ll figure out which way we’re going to go.

“I definitely want to have another fight this year, that’s for sure. I want to be busy. Now I have a target on my back. All I say is, “Come and get it.”

By: Sean Crose

Teofimo Lopez defended his WBO junior welterweight title against Steve Claggett 38-7-2 on Saturday night in Miami. Although he was expected to win, Lopez’s 20-1 performance had a lot to do with his performance against Claggett, as there were numerous high-profile fights just over the horizon. Claggett had an impressive first goal while Lopez seemed to survey the area. Lopez remained cautious in the first half of the second half, but started to augment his volume later in the chapter. In the third quarter, Lopez fought more confidently and was able to land cleanly.

The defending champion really started to get the better of his man in the fourth quarter. It must be admitted, however, that Claggett continued to push forward. With the situation now in complete control, Lopez was able to hit his shots on the fifth frame. The conclusion was that the American was simply too mighty for the match against the Canadian challenger. With that in mind, the veteran Claggett has shown enough aggressiveness and skill to dispel any doubts as to whether he is a suitable challenger for Lopez’s title.

Halfway through the fight, everything fell into a clear pattern: Claggett moving forward with straight punches, while Lopez assumed a relaxed, at times Mayweatheresque, defensive position, parrying and landing strenuous when he wanted. In the seventh round, Lopez landed stinging straight punches on the still aggressive Claggett. Lopez hurt Claggett in the eighth round – enough to make one wonder what was left for the challenger. With this in mind, Claggett continued to press on.

By the ninth round, it was clear that Lopez was having an effortless evening, as Claggett’s sheer durability may have been the only reason the 140-pound champion didn’t try to finish his opponent. Sure enough, Lopez started throwing punches in a quick and furious fashion towards the end of the tenth round. The eleventh round continued to show a significant difference in skill and strength between the two fighters. In the twelfth and final round, Claggett seemed to lose strength. Never mind. Lopez put on a show throughout the fight, which was deemed a unanimous decision victory by the judges.

TThe December 23 pay-per-view fight card in Saudi Arabia was hailed as “The Day of Reckoning.” And for some of the players in action, that’s exactly what happened.

But for Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, it was Reclamation Day.

Both British heavyweights were at times seen as representing the future of the division, and perhaps the sport as a whole, each suffered shocking losses following stoppages, each was slightly rebuilt only for both to fall miniature against Oleksandr Usyk, and each of them was, to varying degrees, written to set off on the Day of Reckoning. But that card they shared six months ago was the night they both started rejuvenating their careers.

Sure, both won fights they should have won. AJ was the clear favorite to beat Otto Wallin. And Dubois was supposed to beat Jarrell Miller.

But the “how” matters. In boxing, it always matters.

Dubois overcame several ponderous blows from Miller in the early rounds, showed willingness to trade, gradually took control and didn’t settle for a decision victory — instead forcing a stoppage over the previously unbeaten “Massive Baby” with eight seconds remaining in what was — tellingly, given his in-ring record to that point — the most significant victory of his career.

Joshua, facing an opponent whose only defeat was a 12-round loss to then-lineal champion Tyson Fury, showed confidence, fought aggressively and outworked Wallin, punishing him one-sidedly until his corner gave out after round five. It was AJ’s most significant win in at least three years since Kubrat Pulev, and perhaps in four years since the Andy Ruiz rematch, and arguably the most impressive end-to-end domination of a world-class fighter in his entire career.

On Reckoning Day, Joshua and Dubois announced that they were still warriors to be reckoned with. Then, both went out and improved their performances in their subsequent outings.

If you want, ignore Joshua’s win over Francis Ngannou on March 8 as simply the more notable Butterbean-Bart Gunn. It was undoubtedly a show of force in the form of a farce. But it was just as vital a victory for Joshua. This was a fighter with all the physical gifts a heavyweight champion could ask for, reminding the world what he was capable of. And he didn’t do it just for himself. He did it for .

For defenders of the sport, his right hand erased the embarrassment of Fury’s victory over Ngannou.

On June 1, Dubois wrote his own statement. Not for all of boxing. Only for myself.

Dubois was the underdog against unbeaten Croatian Filip Hrgovic on another loaded card in Riyadh. And it seemed the bookmakers were right for the first two rounds, as “Dynamite” repeatedly let right hands detonate on him. But just like in his match with Miller, he persevered through the tough times after being criticized for his losses to Usyk and Joe Joyce. And he gradually turned the tide. Dubois dominated until the fifth. He rocked Hrgovic with right hands in the seventh set. The fight was stopped in the eighth.

About five months after the best and most significant victory of his career, Dubois picked up another best and most significant victory of his career.

The parallel paths of these two British heavyweights are will take place on September 21 at Wembley Stadiumit was made official on Wednesday. And the timing couldn’t be more perfect. While Joshua’s dream intercontinental showdown with Deontay Wilder has eluded him to the point of irrelevance, and a British all-marble mega-fight with Fury has yet to quite materialize, AJ now has Dubois in line as both reach their peaks.

If you had told me before the Day of Reckoning that this fight would take place nine months later and that I would care about it as much as I do, I would not have believed you.

December 22, 2023 Joshua and Dubois seemed more like a throwback to the era of British “horizontal trucks” than the standard bearers of the glamor division’s future. But here they are, two of the hottest weightlifters alive not named Oleksandr Usyk, and the idea of ​​them swapping skins is absolutely enticing.

This is despite the complete stupidity of advertising this event as a heavyweight championship fight.

Joshua did his best to address boxing embarrassment as he eviscerated Ngannou, but boxing, like a salamander that regains its limbs if you cut one off, has a way of creating recent embarrassments every time a glimmer of sanity momentarily appears.

Usyk unified all the belts, became the undisputed champion, brought reason and order to the division and dispelled all possible doubts about who The Man is. And he was forced to give up one of his belts so that it could be given to Dubois. Because… boxing. Because God forbid that fans should be treated like adults.

It would be bad enough if Joshua and Dubois fought for the vacant title to create a BS “feud” over Usyk’s undisputed status starting on the night of September 21st. But this is even dumber. Joshua-Dubois, a fight between two balmy heavyweight contenders, features Dubois defending his title against AJ.

If anything, narratively, the newcomer Dubois plays the role of challenger to the established veteran. But don’t believe the evidence you’ve seen with your own eyes and ears; rather accept what the sanctioning body tells you – that Dubois is defending the world championship against Joshua.

Usyk still walks the earth, and yet we are led to believe that one of the two fighters who have a combined 0-3 against him should rightly be called “champion.”

This saddens me because the Dubois-Joshua fight itself is an amazing fight. These are two contenders trying to become the man most deserving of fighting the winner of Usyk-Fury II. You don’t need higher rates.

Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren came very close to delivering the perfect quote announcing the fight at a press conference this week.

“It doesn’t get any better than that,” Warren said. “Two Brits fighting for the IBF title, two of the greatest heavyweights in the world, and as we all know, when you have two quality British fighters fighting for a title like that, you always get a classic fight. Massive punchers. It won’t go the distance. Someone’s going to walk away.”

Just remove any reference to a little thing that rightfully belongs to Usyk, and Warren’s quote will be worth reprinting on every website, every social media post, and every poster advertising the fight.

“It doesn’t get any better than this. Two Brits, two of the biggest heavyweights in the world, and as we all know, when you have two quality British fighters fighting each other with such high stakes, you always get a classic fight. Massive punchers. It won’t go the distance. Someone’s going to walk away.”

Of course, the promise of a knockout is a classic promoter’s phrase, but it’s reasonable to believe that Joshua and Dubois will keep it. Both are power punchers, with Dubois boasting 20 KOs among his 21 wins; Joshua finished things early in 25 of his 28 wins. Both have a certain fragility. Joshua was stopped once and knocked down four times. Both of Dubois’ losses were by stoppage, and he was knocked down six times.

Both have experienced the lowest ebbs in boxing. And that’s what makes Dubois-Joshua, with both in the best form of their careers, so fascinating. It’s exactly the right fight at the right time – and in the right place, at Wembley, in front of a no doubt loud and not at all sober crowd of his countrymen, rather than in a musty and sterile arena in Saudi Arabia.

Both are still youthful by contemporary heavyweight standards. Dubois is youthful in almost every respect, at 26 years elderly. But at 34, Joshua is younger than Usyk, younger than Fury, younger than Wilder and younger than Zhilei Zhang. Judging by his last two fights, he may be reaching his peak – more than seven years after his victory over Wladimir Klitschko. If physical abilities do not erode, skills develop, self-confidence is restored, and the wisdom and peace that comes with experience prevails, then we may not have seen the best of AJ yet.

If that happens and he wins at Wembley, I hope we have the good sense not to write Dubois off as he suffers his third professional defeat. And if Dubois wins and completely takes over from Joshua as the latest British heavyweight mega-talent to hit rock bottom and deliver on his promise, I hope we don’t call that the end of AJ too.

I like everything about this fight… except for one thing. So let’s agree to ignore that one thing and appreciate this fight for what it is – two grave contenders trying to establish supremacy over the other.

No, Frank Warren, it doesn’t get any better than that. You should have ended your sales pitch there.