Liam Paro says he’s got the boxing IQ to dethrone IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias this Saturday, June 15th, in their headliner, live on DAZN at the Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu in Manati, Puerto Rico.
Paro’s Recent Victories Fuel Confidence
#5 IBF Paro (24-0, 15 KOs) is confident from his recent knockout victories over Montana Love and Brock Jarvin. He feels those victories show that he’s improved his game enough to defeat the IBF champion Matias (20-1, 20 KOs) on Saturday night.
The Australian Paro, 28, was matched against the ideal guys in his last two fights to make him look good because those guys were a couple of flawed fighters who weren’t top-echelon contenders.
Before fighting them, Paro had struggled badly, squeaking by Yomar Alamo by a ten-round split decision in 2021.
Alamo is the same fighter that Richardson Hitchins stopped in eight rounds in 2022. That puts things in perspective.
While the southpaw Paro is a good fighter, he might not be what he appears to be, and if he’s not, Matias will chop him up on Saturday night like he’s done with his last five opponents.
I would have liked to have seen Paro matched against a real killer, like Hitchins, Gary Antuanne Russell, or Jamaine Ortiz, before getting a world title shot against Subriel Matias.
By fighting one of those guys, we could see what’s what with Paro, and it would give fans a true picture of whether he’s the real thing or just another of his wily promoter Eddie Hearn’s pseudo creations.
Paro’s Preparation and Mindset
“I’m more than ready for June 15th. I’ve had a beautiful camp with beautiful sparring and preparation. We’re surely prepared for this task,” said Liam Paro to Secondsout, discussing his fight this Saturday night against IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias on DAZN in Puerto Rico.
“We know what Matias brings to the table. That’s his style. It’s worked well for him. I don’t see him stepping away from that style. I believe I have the boxing ability and the IQ to beat this guy. I keep having these tests, and I keep passing them with flying colors against the very best, and that’s what it’s all about,” said Paro.
It sounds like Paro will attempt to outbox Matias, which is not the right strategy because he’s fighting him in his home country in Puerto Rico on Saturday night.
The chances of Paro winning a decision in Matias’ hometown are slim, so he needs to think of scoring a knockout and beating him at his own game. Matias hasn’t fought a lot of southpaws in his career, and this might be a problem for him going up against Paro.
Overconfidence from Victory Over Love
“I had a beautiful win over Montana Love and Matchroom signed Subriel Matias, and I got offered that opportunity with the IBF title,” said Paro. “I always want to fight for a title; this is my dream, so why not? I want to fight the best names. It hit two birds with one stone with that one.”
Paro needs to forget his win over Love because this was a weak opponent that Steve Spark had already exposed in his previous fight a year earlier, in 2022.
Beating Love means nothing because Matias is a far, far better fighter than that guy, and Paro could be in for an unpleasant evening on Saturday night if he’s banking on being able to do the same thing against the IBF champion that he did against Montana.
“I won a lot of fans over on that night, and that’s what I’ll continue to do with my career,” said Paro about his win against Love last December. “It was exactly the fight we needed and the outcome that we needed to get back to where we needed to be,” said Paro.
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