Richardson Hitchins isn’t giving IBF light welterweight champion Liam Paro any credit for his bravery in agreeing to fight him next for their December 7th contest because he’s his mandatory, and he didn’t want to pay him a step aside. It was either fight or lose the IBF belt. There was no bravery involved.
Hitchins: Paro Had No Choice
Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs) says it was similar to how Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) fought the boogeyman at 140, Subriel Matias, last summer on June 15th in Manati, Puerto Rico. He states that the 28-year-old Paro had already backed out of a fight against former WBC 140-lb champion Regis Prograis in the past due to an injury. He had a built-up record, and he was 28.
It was either agreed to the offer to fight Matias or get cut from Matchroom because they’d given him two opportunities to fight for world titles. So, Paro took the fight with Matias, did a lot of holding and roughhouse tactics, and won the fight by a 12-round decision. Hitchins says Paro held a lot and threw rabbit punches during the Matias fight.
Paro will defend against #1 IBF mandatory Hitchins on December 7th in the main event, live on DAZN from Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The highly skilled Hitchins, an amped-up version of Shakur Stevenson but with more power and aggressiveness, plans on schooling the southpaw Paro. He’s going to neutralize the bag of tricks Paro uses, taking away his excessive clinching to give him a boxing lesson.
“When you built your career up in Australia, and you signed with Eddie Hearn, and he gives you not one but two opportunities to fight for a world title. The first opportunity, you go out with an injury to Regis Prograis,” said Richardson Hitchins to Cigar Talk about Liam Paro being given advantages to fight for world titles since signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom.
“Now, they’re [Matchroom] like, ‘We’re going to give you another opportunity. If you say, No, you’re getting cut. Your manager will cut you.’ You’re 28; your record is already built up. You got to say, ‘Yes.’ There’s no choice,” said Hitchins about why Paro fought former IBF 140-lb champion Subriel Matias on June 15th in Manati, Puerto Rico.
“The same thing when Liam Paro said, ‘I took upon my mandatory. You was my mandatory. I’m showing you that I’m a fighter.’ You’re not showing me you’re a fighter. You had to fight me. I’m your mandatory. You tried to get a Devin Haney fight. That didn’t work out. You tried to do something with George Kambosos. It didn’t work out,” said Hitchins.
Paro Cornered with No Escape
It sounds like Paro was at the end of his rope with Matchroom and literally had no choice but to take the fight with the dangerous puncher Subriel Matias on June 15th. Would Hearn have cut Paro loose if he’d refused to agree to the fight? It wouldn’t be surprising because he couldn’t string him along, subsidizing his career by matching him against tomato cans, infinitum.
HIitchins is a whole different ballgame for Paro compared to the guys he’s been facing during his carefully maneuvered eight-year career, and he’s going to have to come up with a different set of tools to try and win this fight. Holding and roughhouse tactics won’t get the job done against a highly skilled fighter like Hitchins because he’s seen all that stuff before.
“The only choice Eddie gave him was he had to fight me, or he had to pay me step aside money. He wasn’t trying to do that. People are talking and talking, but him [Paro] going to Puerto Rico [to fight Matias] didn’t mean nothing. You’re 28. You have to fight,” said Hitchins about Paro.
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