Richardson Hitchins isn’t giving IBF light-welterweight champion Liam Paro any credit for his bravery in agreeing to fight him next for their December 7 contest because he’s his mandatory obligation, and he didn’t want to step aside not pay It was fight or lose the IBF belt. There was no bravery involved.
Hitchins: Paro had no choice
Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs) says it was similar to how Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) fought the boogeyman at 140, Subriel Matias, last summer on June 15 in Manati, Puerto Rico. He mentions that the 28-year-old Paro has already backed out of a fight against former WBC 140-lb champion Regis Prograis due to injury in the past. He had an accumulated record, and he was 28.
The offer to fight Matias was either accepted or cut from Matchroom because they gave him two opportunities to fight for world titles. So, Paro took the fight to Matias, did a lot of holding and rowhouse tactics and won the fight by a 12 round decision. Hitchins says Paro held a lot and threw rabbit punches during the Matias fight.
Paro will defend against #1 IBF Mandatory Hitchins on December 7th in the main event, live on DAZN from Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The highly skilled Hitchins, an enhanced version of Shakur Stevenson, but with more power and aggressiveness, plans to school the southpaw Paro. He’s going to neutralize the bag of tricks Paro uses, and take away his excessive clinch to give him a boxing lesson.
“When you built your career in Australia, and you signed with Eddie Hearn, and he gives you not one, but two opportunities to fight for a world title. The first opportunity, you go out with an injury to Regis Prograis,” Richardson Hitchins said Cigar Talk about Liam Paro being given benefits to fight for world titles since signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom.
“Now, they’re (Matchroom) like, ‘We’re going to give you another opportunity. If you say, No, you are cut. Your manager will cut you.’ You are 28; your record is already built up. You must say, “Yes.” There is no choice,” Hitchins said of why Paro fought former IBF 140-lb champion Subriel Matias on June 15 in Manati, Puerto Rico.
“The same thing when Liam Paro said: ‘I have accepted my obligation. You were my obligation. I show you I am a warrior.’ You don’t show me you’re a fighter. You had to fight me. I am obliged to you. You tried to get a Devin Haney fight. It didn’t work out. You tried to do something with George Kambosos. It didn’t work out,” Hitchins said.
Paro Cornered with No Escape
It sounds like Paro was at the end of his rope with Matchroom and literally had no choice but to take on the dangerous puncher Subriel Matias on June 15th. Would Hearn have cut Paro loose if he refused to agree to the fight? It wouldn’t be surprising because he couldn’t get himself together, subsidizing his career by matching him against tomato cans, infinitum.
HIitchins is a whole different ballgame for Paro compared to the guys he’s faced in his carefully maneuvered eight-year career, and he’ll have to come up with a different set of tools to try and win this fight. Holding and roughhouse tactics won’t get the job done against a highly skilled fighter like Hitchins because he’s seen all that stuff before.
“The only choice Eddie gave him was that he had to fight me, or he had to put my money aside. He didn’t try to do that. People talk and talk, but him (Paro) going to Puerto Rico (to fight Matias) meant nothing. You’re 28. You have to fight,” Hitchins said of Paro.
