by Keith Idec
AMONG the things Richardson Hitchins said did not make sense about Liam Parro was that Hitchins had beaten a higher level of opposition than him.
Paro pointed out during an interview with Boxing News that while Hitchins has been “hiding” in the IBF rankings since his fight with “the so-called boogeyman” Subriel Mathias, the Australian southpaw has happily taken the title and hit it on June 15. rather, it paid off when he upset the Puerto Rican power puncher by unanimous decision to win the IBF junior light heavyweight title.
Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) is scheduled to make the first defense of that IBF belt against Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs), his mandatory challenger, on Saturday night at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The 12-round, 140-pound championship bout between Paro, 28, and Hitchins, 27, is the main event of the card, which will begin airing on DAZN at midnight GMT in the UK (7pm ET in the US).
An inspired Paro returned to Matias’ home island for a second fight in a row nearly six months after surprisingly withstanding Matias’ power and defeating him on all three counts at the Jose Abreu Coliseum in Manati, Puerto Rico.
“Matias is a hell of a champion,” Paro told Boxing News. “I was very blessed to share a ring with him there in Puerto Rico. We’ve said that for a long time – we believe in our skills, we know what we have and we just show the world and make them believe. What better way than to do it with the so-called boogeyman at the time?
“He made five people give up their chairs.” No one wanted to fight him. No one else raised their hand. Hitchins was one of them hiding in the IBF rating. Everyone fell silent and no one spoke his name. But we are true warriors and we have just shown what we are capable of. And, as I said, we believed and we showed the world what we know.
Referee Luis Pabon deducted a point from Parr for holding during the seventh round against Mathias (21-2, 21 KOs). Paro still won with a five point difference according to judge John Basil (116-111) and three points each on the cards of judges Gerardo Martinez (115-112) and Carlo Zappia (115-112). Mathias entered the ring as an 8-1 favorite over Parr, who the handicappers had made a slight favorite to beat Brooklyn’s Hitchins, a clean boxer who is taller and has a longer reach than the defending champion.
“Look, it was a very tough fight,” Paro said of the win over Mathias. “We knew what we were up against.” I said that before that. We knew the task ahead of us, and it was a big one. But that just makes it a better chapter in the book. I live the rest of my life as a champion for it and Gothic the respect we deserve. But we’re still making it all over the world, and I’ll keep making it that December 7th.”