Liam Paro produced the performance of his life to dethrone Subriel Matias in his own backyard and take the IBF super-flyweight world title in a boxing big.
Paro, who was a $5.50 outsider before the fight, beat the Puerto Rican via unanimous decision (115-112 x 2, 116-111) in front of a raucous crowd at the Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu in Manati.
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However, the fight was not without controversy as referee Luis Pabon was bizarrely overzealous in admonishing Paro throughout, with a point deduction in round seven branded “disgusting” by DAZN commentator Chris Mannix.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn branded Paro’s performance an “absolute masterclass” in boxing and hailed the Aussie for having the courage to take on the super-lightweight bogeyman.
“We said he (Paro) has to earn his (Matias’) respect, he did,” Hearn said in a post-fight interview.
“He pushed him back, he boxed off the back foot. It was an absolute masterclass, I had it so wide.
“With three or four rounds left, Matias needed a knockout. It wasn’t even close, it was a masterclass from Liam Paro.
“And to come to Puerto Rico, the backyard of the guy nobody wanted to fight, it’s a huge win for Liam Paro, a huge win for Australian boxing.”
Paro’s win was the 25th of his career as he maintained his unbeaten record, while Matias suffered his first loss in five games.
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The game prowess of Matias was on full display before a punch had even been thrown as he was flanked by Puerto Rican rappers Yovngchimi and Nengo Flow and took his time stepping into the ring.
But Paro was not willing to roll over for the champion and started well when he knocked Matias, who is traditionally reluctant to throw many punches in the early rounds.
But Pabon wasted little time in exerting his influence on the contest, aggressively warning Paro between the second and third rounds to stop leading with his head.
Matias decided to open up and apply more pressure at the end of the third round, but it did little to trouble Paro, who showed nimble movements to create angles and avoid the Puerto Rican’s biggest shots.
Paro suffered a slight hiccup in the middle rounds and required a powerful takedown from his corner as Matias gained the upper hand, but Pabon was not yet done making himself the center of attention.
In the seventh round, Pabon decided to deduct a point from Paro due to what he felt were too many illegal punches to the back of Matias’ head.
The decision to punish Paro enraged Mannix.
“What do we do? There’s no way that justifies a deduction,” Mannix said.
“Luis Pabon has had it for Liam Paro since the very first round. It’s disgusting.”
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Despite the hometown advantage, Paro refused to take a step back and found a second wind in the later rounds, even bloodied Matias late in the seventh.
As the fight continued into the championship rounds, Matias simply never found an answer for Paro as the Aussie boxed intelligently despite a dwindling gas tank.
Although Paro had edged out his rival, many Australian boxing fans feared the worst when it came to the scorecards, as the fight was in Matia’s backyard.
But there would be no controversy on the scorecards as the man from Mackay recorded his biggest win to date.
And Paro could even make her first title defense in front of her adoring Australian fans, according to Hearn.
“Time to bring him home to Australia,” Hearn said.
“He’s been on the road a long time and had to take all these fights.
“I would love to see him defend that championship in Australia.”
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