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Liam Paro adds his name to Australia’s top fighters by ‘proving everyone wrong’ in fight against Subriel Matias

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Liam Paro poses for a photo after winning his fight against Subriel Matias at Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu in Manati, Puerto Rico.

Winning on the road is never effortless.

That’s what made Liam Paro’s weekend IBF junior welterweight title fight against Subriel Matias even more special.

Fighting one of the most risky fighters in boxing, Paro not only had to overcome the bulky hands of Puerto Rican native Matias, but also had to deal with a referee who was clearly determined to force him to lose focus on the fight on Saturday night.

But it’s not only what happens in the ring that can make life arduous for a boxer away from home. Gone are many familiar faces that are usually seen at pre-fight events. The sights and smells are different. The food is different. Even petite things, such as the taste of water or the singing of strange birds, can subtly disrupt a boxer’s preparations.

It was not without reason that the bookmakers considered Paro to be a +600 underdog going into the fight. In his eight-year professional career, the 28-year-old Australian southpaw has never fought anyone remotely close to Matias’ skill set, much less anyone with his famed strength. The Puerto Rican crowd that showed up en masse to fill the Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu in Manati for the titleholder’s first fight in his homeland in nearly five years wanted to make the guy as uncomfortable as possible.

The unfamiliar surroundings did not shock Paro. He soaked up the atmosphere as Matias, wearing yellow and gray shorts and matching yellow gloves, made the long journey to the ring.

Paro, dressed in a black and pink outfit, muted the noise and fought a perfectly controlled fight. True to form, Matias started slowly while Paro kept moving his hands to score points. The player showed diversity in his attack, pecking Matias’ head and then landing mighty shots to the body. He boxed long hours when he could, traded inside when he had to, and choked when the going got tough.

Coach Alfie Di Carlo was a calming influence on the pitch, despite his colorful language. His tactical instructions to Paro were spot on and he eliminated the senseless intrusions of local referee Luis Pabon, keeping his player focused on the task at hand. When things got worse on the sixth voyage, it was Di Carlo who stabilized the ship. And when Pabon scored Paro a point in the seventh set for a phantom violation, no one on the team was able to recover.

It was a classic corner kick, with assistant coach Justin Frost and editor Stephen Edwards providing another two pairs of sheltered hands.

The common opinion before the fight was that Matias, ranked No. 3 by The Ring in the 140-pound weight class, would be mighty in the middle rounds. He was expected to beat Paro to the point of admitting defeat, just as he had his five previous opponents. But Paro turned out to be made of sturdier stuff. He weathered the storm, made subtle adjustments and came home with moist sails, better able to handle the action in the championship rounds.

Paro made sure the crowd didn’t matter. He also ruled out referee Pabon, giving him no reason to further punish him in the fight. And when the final bell rang, only the judges could deprive him of the victory.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

The judges twice scored the fight 116-111 and 115-112, meaning Paro lost no more than four rounds in the 12-round fight.

Paro was joyful. Matias was depressed. After congratulating the up-to-date champion, the 32-year-old former titleholder quickly left the ring. He did not protest against the result.

Liam Paro (left) lands on Subriel Matias (right) during a fight at the Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu Stadium in Manati, Puerto Rico – Photo: Amanda Westcott/Matchroom

It was a complete performance by Paro, heralding his entry onto the world stage.

“I went through hell and came back to life,” said Paro (25-0, 15 KO) in the ring after the fight. “I keep proving everyone wrong. I just passed my biggest test and came out on top.

“I knew it would be arduous. Matias is an amazing champion.

“This is my hardest fight so far. He’s tough, man. It hits tough. There’s a reason he has 20 knockouts.

“I knew entering the lion’s den would be hostile. But I always said it would be a better chapter in the book when it was all said and done.

“I have proven that I am at the top here. I just eliminated the boogeyman. I am that man now. I’m the captain. Come and get it.”

One person who would like to come and get it is former champion Matias, who The Ring realizes did not have a rematch clause in his contract.

“I don’t feel like I can say what I want, but if [promoter] “Eddie Hearn says, ‘You have to go to Australia and rematch Liam Paro,’ and I’m going to knock out Liam Paro and do something I wouldn’t be able to do tonight,” Matias (20-2, 20 KO) said after the fight. fight with press conference.

Boxing away from home is nothing up-to-date for Australian fighters. Almost all of the world title challenges for the Antipodes take place on foreign soil. Jimmy Carruthers traveled to South Africa to dethrone world bantamweight champion Vic Toweel in 1952 and win The Ring Championship. In 1968, Lionel Rose followed suit, winning The Ring, WBC and WBA bantamweight championships from the great Fighting Harada promotion in Japan. Johnny Famechon won The Ring and WBC featherweight championship from Jose Legra in England in 1969.

This trend continued for years. Rocky Mattioli won the WBC junior middleweight title against Eckhard Dagge in Germany in 1977, Jeff Harding won the WBC featherlight heavyweight title against Dennis Andries in America in 1989, and Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu had to go to the States to win his first world title against IBF junior welterweight boss Jake Rodriguez in 1995.

Flyweight Vic Darchinyan captured both Irene Pacheco’s head and the IBF US title in 2004. Gairy St Clair defeated Malcolm Klassen for the IBF super featherweight title in South Africa in 2006. Daniel Geale and Sam Soliman traveled to Germany to win the IBF Middleweight Championship against Sebastian Silvester and Felix Sturm in 2011 and 2014 respectively.

Subriel Matias (right) takes cover as Liam Paro (left) attacks during a fight at the Coliseo Juan Aubín Cruz Abreu Stadium in Manati, Puerto Rico – Photo: Amanda Westcott/Matchroom

George Kambosos Jr recently surprised the boxing world with his victory over Teofimo Lopez for The Ring lightweight championship and IBF/WBA/WBO American titles in 2021, the same country where Jason Moloney traveled two years later to become WBO bantamweight champion after defeating Vincent Astrolabio.

Among these victories there are also stories of bad luck, with names such as Paul Ferreri, Hector Thompson, Tony Mundine, Troy Waters, Hussein Hussein, Nedal Hussein, Paul Briggs and Michael Katsidis filling out a much longer list of world title contenders who appeared in the miniature boxing in the opponent’s backyard.

Away wins are simply not effortless to achieve.

Australian fighters have long had a reputation for being “tough but narrow-minded”, and in many cases this reputation is well-deserved. But as recent history has shown, boxers from this immense but sparsely populated continent not only want to get to the large dance, they also want to leave with the homecoming queen.

So which of Paro’s wins over Matias is among the greatest away wins for an Australian boxer?

This, dear reader, is up to you to decide.

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Boxing

“Eddie Hearn is a counterfeit” – Ryan Garcia

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Image: "Eddie Hearn Is a Fake" - Ryan Garcia

Ryan Garcia has blasted promoter Eddie Hearn, saying he’s a “counterfeit” because he “turned his back” on Devin Haney after losing to him on April 20. Garcia believes Matchroom promoter Hearn is “counterfeit” for abandoning Haney (31-0, 15 KO) after he was defeated. He thinks this is low.

Ryan didn’t like how Hearn said he was seeded and was looking for a fight with Haney in the ring. He doesn’t understand how he would have managed not to look like he was “crazy” if he had been able to dominate Haney the way he did at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Modern York.

“Eddie Hearn said, ‘Ryan Garcia looked crazy in the ring before the fight.’ You can watch the fight, stupid,” Ryan Garcia said social mediatalking about his fight with Devin Haney on April 20. “I was literally normal.”

To be sincere, Ryan looked a little nervous in the lead-up to the Haney fight, but in the ring during the fight. He was 100% committed during the fight itself, which we saw clearly from the way he rocked Haney with a left hook to the jaw in the first round. Haney never recovered from Ryan’s lightning-quick shot.

“If I had been spaced out like that in the ring, how would I have managed to land a perfect counter left hook in front of his jaw? You stupid Eddie Hearn. You stupid idiot. “Oh, Ryan was pissed in the ring.” I’m fed up with Eddie Hearn. This guy is a fraud,” Garcis said.

Ryan shouldn’t take Hearn seriously as he could just be flapping his gums to have something to talk about as his former player Haney was really overworked. All the demanding work Hearn put into him was wasted.

After this loss, you could understand why Hearn wanted to leave the sinking ship Haney before it sank. It is useless now. Haney’s career has hit rock bottom and won’t be resurfaced with Hearn’s facilitate.

He won’t want to sign a contract with Haney and then make a costly and time-consuming transaction rebuild work on him, which could take two years and involve four or five confidence builders. Haney isn’t a huge enough attraction.

“You have to question what Eddie Hearn said. He said: “I looked at Ryan and he was really in bad shape.” I had a six pack and was ready to go. I came demanding. I drank a lot of fluids and ate a lot. I don’t usually do this.

“I don’t know how he gains so much weight. His weight went from 140 to 158. I was 156. Eddie Hearn said: “He was shaking and looking everywhere.” No, I wasn’t. Watch the fight. I wasn’t broken. How can I fight so broken?” Garcia said.

Many fans wonder how Haney gains so much weight after rehydrating after fights, but weight manipulation in sports requires policies to prevent this from happening. On fight night, weights should be additionally checked to ensure that fighters do not hydrate more than 5 pounds, as it is risky to have someone hydrate more than 20 pounds and employ their size to win. This is not only unfair, but can endanger the lives of opponents.

“If you’re really drugged, how can you fight in front of millions of people and fight for 12 rounds? These people are stupid. I’d like to see Eddie Hearn and say, “Are you stupid?” Your fighter wasn’t fighting well and wasn’t even your fighter at the time. And when he was beaten, you turned your back on him. You are a counterfeit cheater. Fuck you, Eddie Hearn,” Garcia said.

All that acting that Ryan did to make Haney think he was crazy may have also fooled Hearn into thinking he was out of his mind. Many people believed that Garcia was either showing signs of early schizophrenia or was under the influence of drugs.

“Forget you, Eddie Hearn, for trying to create the narrative I had in mind before the fight. You’re just an idiot. It’s a curse for him because you tried to lie to me so many times. Now look at your promotion,” Ryan said.

Again, we don’t know what Hearn’s purpose in the conversation was, as he may have been trying to generate interest in the fight by telling some elevated tales.

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Boxing

Daniyar Yeleussinov submits Joe Noynay twice and scores in round five in Kazakhstan

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Daniyar Yeleussinov celebrates his victory over Zoltan Szabo during their super welterweight fight at York Hall in London. (Image: Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)

by Francisco Salazar |

Daniyar Yeleussinov returned to fighting after a long break and hopes to be successful in a modern weight class.

Yeleussinov stopped Joe Noynay twice, winning by fifth-round knockout on Saturday night at the Almaty Arena in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Yeleussinov improved his record to 12-0, 7 by knockout.

Southern midfielder Yeleussinov was acute from the opening bell. About 30 seconds before the end of the first round, a left to the body sent Noynay to one knee. Noynay managed to defeat the enumerator and get out of the round.

Less than a minute into the fourth round, a series of punches, including left hands to the head and body, knocked Noynay to the canvas. Noynay got down on both knees but beat the count given by referee Martin Pawlak.

Noynay continued to play, but Yeleussinov’s accuracy and striking speed surpassed him. Yeleussinov was the aggressor and took Noynay down, beating him up for most of the fight. As round five ended, Noynay’s corner made a clever move to keep Noynay from taking more punishment and preventing him from answering the bell in round six.

Saturday’s victory over Noynay was Yeleussinov’s first fight since a one-sided win over Juan Hernan Leal in December 2021 in Astana, Kazakhstan. Yeleussinov won a minor welterweight world title belt.

The 33-year-old is from Kayinda, Kazakhstan and currently lives in Miami, Florida.

Chris Glover, who has worked with Jeleussinov and his team, stated that Jeleussinov will likely return to action and fight at 154 pounds.

Yeleussinov was an outstanding amateur, winning an Olympic gold medal in 2016. Yeleussinov signed with Matchroom Boxing and made his professional debut in April 2018, fighting a total of 10 times under the Matchroom banner. Yeleussinov defeated the likes of Reshard Hicks, Alan Sanchez and former lightweight titleholder Julius Indongo by knockout.

Noynay, who lives in Paranaque City, Philippines, has a record of 23-5-2, 11 KOs. Noynay previously fought on May 16, losing by knockout to once-defeated Jin Sasaki.

The 29-year-old split two fights with junior lightweight title challenger Liam Wilson and former junior lightweight world champion Kenichi Ogawa.

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Humberto Soto’s son, Elvin, makes his professional debut

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Promoter Paco Damian has signed junior lightweight Elvin Soto, the 18-year-old son of former two-division titleholder Humberto “Zorrit” Soto.

Elvin made his professional debut last weekend in Mexico, winning by knockout in the first round.

Starting boxing at the age of 11 and taking part in his first amateur fight at the age of 12, Soto’s journey seems destined for success. He spent four years with CONADE (National Commission for Physical Education and Sports), winning four consecutive years of municipal championships, three state titles and two regional championships.

“I also participated in a binational tournament where I became champion against the United States,” Soto said. “I also competed in the Guerra en la Frontera International Tournament, placing second the first year and winning the title the second.”

Fábrica de Campeones and 8Count Media will manage his career together with promoter Paco Damian. Coach and manager Bobby Quirarte, who guided him through his amateur years, now supervises his training at the renowned Crea Gym in Tijuana under the supervision of Don Romulo and Roberto Quirarte. The gym is known for producing champions such as Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

Damian recalls his early introduction to Elvin’s talent, saying, “I remember having breakfast with his father, Humberto, a few years ago. He showed me a video of this youthful kid sparring and I asked who it was. He proudly said, “That’s my son, Elvin.”

“I was impressed by his skills at just 13 years ancient. Elvin has everything to become something special in this sport – focus, dedication and discipline. I’m excited to be a part of his journey.”

Elvin expressed his enthusiasm for his debut. “I am excited to start my professional career in Tijuana, where my father trained and fought,” he said.

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