Liam Paro is faced with mission impossible tonight, trying to unseat IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias at home in his native Puerto Rico at the Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu in Manati.
As promoter Eddie Hearn points out, no one wants to fight Matias (20-1, 20 KOs), especially not in his home country, Puerto Rico.
The Matchroom Boxing promoter Hearn says he was met with disinterest when he was trying to hunt down an opponent for his recent signee Matias, and he finally found someone brave enough to take the fight in the unbeaten, fearless Paro (24-0, 15 KOs).
Hearn hopes that if Matias looks impressive tonight, the top fighters at 140 will step forward to fight him. Unfortunately, this is more likely to have the opposite effect.
The top guys in the division will continue to avoid Matias like the plague if he shines tonight against Paro because they don’t want to become another statistic.
Hearn rattled off these fighters that he hopes will want to fight Matias next:
– Ryan Garcia
– Teofimo Lopez
– Devin Haney
Paro’s Fight IQ Advantage
“How will he take the punch from Matias? He will get hit, but can he roll with the punch? Can he take the steam off that power?” said boxing expert Sergio Mora to DAZN about Liam Paro for tonight’s fight against IBF light welterweight champion Sergio Mora.
If all Paro had to worry about was taking a single punch from Matias, it wouldn’t be as bad, but the problem is he’s got to be able to take 30+ per round, and all of them hard. Matias throws 80 punches per round, and even if he only lands 25% of them, Paro will need to absorb a lot of punishment.
“Liam Paro is a southpaw, and he’s going to be using those southpaw angles,” said Mora. “If he can back up Matias and get him on his back foot, then you know Liam Paro is coming in with a game plan and a strategy. He has a fight IQ to execute that.
“The quieter the 10,000 Puerto Ricans are, the better Liam Paro is doing. The quieter it is, the better it is for Paro,” said Mora.
It will be easier said than done for Paro to back up Matias and quiet the 10,000+ fans at ringside tonight. Matias stands his ground when attacked and fights back with his power shots.
Paro has not shown the kind of pop on his punches that would worry Matias enough to make him retreat tonight, and if he did have the kind of power, it’s unlikely that Subriel would back off.
“[Matias] admits that he doesn’t have the prettiest technique. He doesn’t have the greatest footwork, but he’s as confident as it gets that the guys cannot finish fights with him,” said Chris Mannix.
“You need contenders that are willing to roll the dice,” said promoter Eddie Hearn about Matias needing fighters that are willing to face him. “We went through a list of opponents for Matias.”
If Matias wins tonight, the only contenders that might be interested in facing him are these guys:
– Gary Antuanne Russell
– Gary Hitchins
– Jose Ramirez
– Regis Prograis
– Jack Catterall
Most of those guys are targeting the other champions for bigger paydays against Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, and Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.
The only one of that group who might be willing to fight Matias is former WBC champion Prograis, and the only reason he would do it is because he’s going to be frozen out by Haney, Pitbull, and Teofimo.
The 35-year-old Prograis is too old to wait for an opportunity to fight the popular champions, so Matias is about as good as it gets.
A Mission Impossible in Puerto Rico
“No one wants to fight him, especially in Puerto Rico. Fighting him in his own hometown is almost like a mission impossible. Liam will give it a great go, and he’s very confident,” said Hearn about fighters not wanting to face Matias.
It’s true what Hearn says about no one wanting to fight Matias. He’s in the ‘Who needs him club,’ and that will not change unless he looks vulnerable tonight against Paro.
If Matias gets dropped a couple of times and barely edges Paro, there will be more interest from the other fighters. However, it’s unlikely that the 140-lb champions Haney, Cruz or Teofimo will want anything to do with Matias, but at least some well-known contenders will be more interested.
“What Matias needs is an unbelievable performance where the whole boxing community, the casual fight fans are going, ‘Stick him with Haney. Stick him in with Teofimo. Stick him in with Ryan Garcia. Stick him in with Tank,’” said Hearn.
Hearn misjudges the other fighters if he thinks they’ll suddenly show interest in fighting Matias if he looks great tonight. He’s been looking sensational, and no one wants anything to do with him. It’s fear. None of these guys want Matias to derail their careers, perhaps even permanently.
“You don’t have to worry about his side. You don’t have to worry about Matias. He’s a scary guy,” said Hearn.
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