Liam Paro says Richardson Hitchins is a ‘frontrunner, quitter’ and promises to drown him in deep waters

The saying “You’re only as good as your last performance” rings true, especially for boxing. 

For Richardson Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs), the inconvenient truth is that he was fortunate to edge Gustavo Lemos in a decision victory in April. Lemos has already returned, however, and was knocked out in two rounds against Kewyshawn Davis last month. 

Liam Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) is no Lemos. He scored one of the leading upsets of the year and beat boogeyman Subriel Matias for the IBF junior welterweight crown in June.

And since Hitchins beat Lemos, he landed the right of mandatory challenger for Paro’s crown, and on Saturday, the pair will fight in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

“I and 90 per cent of the world thought Hitchins got defeated in the Lemos fight and was gifted the decision,” Paro told BoxingScene. “[Davis demolishing Lemos] didn’t do him any favors. Now he has the opportunity to face a real, battle-tested 140-pound champion to see where he’s at.”

Hitchins admitted that he overlooked Lemos and assessed his performance as a terrible one. 

“We’ve got all of our bases covered and we are going to execute our gameplan to be successful,” said Paro. “We’ve never overlooked an opponent. If the knockout is there, we will definitely take it. I want to get the win by any means necessary. 

“It shows the level we’re at. A lot of people tend to overlook us, but that’s their fault. They find out too late the hard way. 

“Hitchins is a good boxer and has a good jab. He’s undefeated for a reason. My mental game is way better than his. The word on the street is that he’s a quitter. I believe that once a quitter, always a quitter. I’m going to really test him. I’m not the person you want to be testing your mental strength against. It’s going to be a long night at the office for him. He’s a frontrunner. I believe that if he doesn’t get his way, it’s going to be a long night. We’ll show the world. I’m going to take this guy to deep waters and drown him.” 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.