Liam Paro with the IBF junior welterweight title he took from Subriel Matias. (Photo by Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
Liam Paro signed his life away when he agreed to travel to Puerto Rico to challenge IBF junior welterweight titleholder Subriel Matias in his home country.
That’s if social media is to be believed, anyway.
The 28-year-old Australian southpaw was undefeated but unranked by The Ring. He had boxed just twice in the previous two-and-a-half years – a first-round blowout of former bantamweight Brock Jarvis and a sixth-round knockout of fringe contender Montana Love. Consensus opinion was that he was out of his depth and far from home, unlikely to get any favors from the judges if he miraculously made it that far.
Matias’ reputation preceded him. The formidable puncher had won all bar one of his fights, with every victory coming via knockout. The lone blemish on his ledger was a close decision loss to Petros Ananyan. He avenged that defeat in brutal fashion, delivering a nine-round beatdown.
The ferocious power and high punch output of The Ring’s number three contender didn’t exactly have suitors queueing up a mile deep to face him. The prospect of facing a Puerto Rican in Puerto Rico did nothing to sweeten the deal either.
But Paro leapt at the opportunity.
“I’ve always been good at zoning in and blocking out the noise,” said Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) in an exclusive interview with The Ring about his unanimous decision victory over Matias at Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu in Manati on June 15.
“We had a job to do and we had our minds on our job. We had a game plan that my coach, Alfie Di Carlo, came up with and we executed perfectly.
(Photo by Amanda Westcott/Matchroom)
“I was just excited, like, ‘This is it, this is my time to show the world what I know,’ and what better way than against a guy that no one wanted to face.
“Everyone avoided him. No one wanted to speak his name. Just the magnitude of this win is crazy.”
Paro did that job perfectly. He boxed beautifully early at range, stood in the trenches when he had to in the mid-rounds, then dictated the rhythm and the pace through the last four stanzas.
It was close to a virtuoso performance.
“It was perfect. I have to take my hat off to Alfie Di Carlo for that. His boxing wisdom when it comes to that side of things is amazing. His boxing IQ is through the roof, and I 100 percent trusted him,” said Paro.
“I knew I was going to have to fight with [Matias]. I couldn’t be on the run the whole time. And when I did, I bullied the bully.
“He was throwing his punches, but I had an answer for everything. So I knew I was going to cop punches in that fight. You can’t go swimming without getting wet.
“We knew the way Matias fights, so I knew what I was getting myself into. I said that in the lead-up. The way we executed the plan was perfect.”
Di Carlo provided a safe pair of hands in the middle rounds when it momentarily looked like the fight could go south.
The Mackay native was on the wrong end of some big punches to close out the sixth, but a spirited pep talk from the Brisbane lawyer and property developer steadied the ship.
“Alfie is the best there is,” laughed Paro when reminded of his trainer’s colorful language. “We know each other really well, and that’s what makes our bond special. Old mate could’ve been hitting me with a hammer and Alfie would still be talking me through it.
“He’s like, ‘We’re in a fight, this is it. Don’t give him a reason.’ It got pretty verbal in there, and that’s what it’s about.
“He reminded me that this is what we’re doing, this is what we dream of. This is it. Don’t give him anything. Don’t give him a reason. This is weathering the storm. But at the same time, Alfie keeps you calm in the corner too, which is perfect.”
“We knew the way Matias fights, so I knew what I was getting myself into. … The way we executed the plan was perfect.”
Fight fans and pundits gave Paro little chance of success, as did the bookmakers who had the challenger listed as a +600 chance.
The social media rumble turned into an amplified voice. The Aussie was getting knocked out.
“You’ve met your executioner. He’s already killed a guy in the ring. Lucky there’s a hospital close by,” Di Carlo said to Beyond The Ring on local streaming service 7plus about the negative online comments that came his way.
“All of that stuff, people were really invested in the idea that this guy was a killer; he was an absolute killer who had the punch volume to destroy any boxer.
“It was common knowledge that nobody could keep up with this guy for 12 rounds. No one. And I think what Liam did, when you halve the output of a killer, he showed what’s possible with boxing and the sweet science.”
That he did.
Paro’s jab was on point, his body attack was consistent throughout the whole 12 rounds, and he mixed up his punch selection to keep Matias guessing, earning a unanimous decision victory in enemy territory by scores of 116-111, 115-112 and 115-112.
Paro waits for his ring walk. (Photo by Amanda Westcott/Matchroom)
“Before the fight, I said Liam Paro takes out Subriel Matias,” Di Carlo continued. “They can say what they want now, but none of them wanted it. They all got offered the fight and everyone said no.
“Liam did it. But it’s not just taking him out. It’s not like Liam got to wake up in his bed in Brisbane that morning of the fight. We went over there and displaced our whole lives. We went into an atmosphere that was full of 10,000 screaming Puerto Ricans. We were put in a dressing room that was like a toilet cubicle with a two-way door. We had no privacy at all. So when I did hand pads, I shifted them along. I said this was a joke.
“But we were in effectively a toilet cubicle with a two-way door that people were just racing through the whole night in order to get to the ring. So everything was done to try to put us in a position where we felt uncomfortable. But we never let any of that bother us. The ordinary person, it might have, but we were focused on one goal, and that was to win the championship.”
Local referee Luis Pabon did the visitor no favors either. As early as the second round, he was berating Paro in the corner, and in the seventh he docked him a point for what seemed to be a fairly innocuous rabbit punch during a clinch.
“You saw in the second round he was straight up on my case,” Paro said. “I’ve watched the fight back, and even when it comes to the break, he was pushing me so that Matias could get back on the front foot. He was watching me like a hawk. Matias was rabbit punching me too. But it is what it is. At the end of the day, they tried everything. He tried his best and I came through victorious. I think it makes the victory even sweeter.
“Boxing is a mental game. I’ve said it for a long time, I’ve got the best mind in the game. I’ve got a very strong mindset, and some people have asked me if I was getting annoyed about it. But you can’t be. You’ve got to keep your mind on the job.
“I had a tremendous fighter I was boxing against, so I knew I just had to stick to the game plan. I felt comfortable in there, like we were having our way pretty easily. I knew if I just kept doing what I was doing and kept it clean, the ref couldn’t do too much.”
(Photo by Amanda Westcott/Matchroom)
Before the fight, Paro told The Ring that he held no concerns about the judges getting it right if it went to the cards. Still, he admits it was an excruciating wait in center ring between the final bell and the winner being announced.
“I was very confident that we did enough; it felt like it was pretty one-sided,” he said. “But of course those thoughts are in the back of your head. We’re in his territory and we’ve seen some crazy calls recently in boxing, so it was very nerve-wracking until my hand was raised and we heard the words ‘and new!’”
The 32-year-old Matias (20-2, 20 KOs) was so confident going in, his team didn’t even insist on a rematch clause. This has opened the door for Paro to make his maiden title defense at home in Australia, and he only wants the big names, should that come to pass.
“Any of those guys with the belts,” Paro said. “I want to bring a big fight back to Australia. I’m a proud Aussie; we deserve the big fights. Like I said, I’m a fighter and I’ll fight anyone. I’ve proved that, and I keep proving that. Bring them to Australia and I’ll fight them. As long as there’s another belt, bring ’em on.”
A decade ago, it would have been considered a pipedream to lure a big name opponent to Australia, but various state governments have recently shown an appetite to fund boxing events. Manny Pacquiao, Mairis Briedis, Devin Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko have all boxed here in recent years, so the idea of luring someone like Ring Magazine and WBO champion Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) down under may not be as far-fetched as it initially sounds.
“There’s been little talks, the idea is floating around, but nothing has been really set in stone,” said Paro. “When I get back to Australia, we’ll start pressing on it and get something started, figure out which way we’re going to go.
“I definitely want to get another fight in this year, that’s for sure. I want to keep busy. I’ve got a target on my back now. All I say is, ‘Come and get it.’”