Liam Paro had to overcome adversity to move closer to a shot at a world title.
The Australian won a unanimous decision (116-112, 116-112, 117-111) over France’s David Papot in their IBF welterweight title eliminator Thursday morning at the Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane, Australia.
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Paro won the IBF super lightweight title in June 2024 by upsetting Subriel Matias in Puerto Rico but lost the belt in his first defense to Richardson Hitchins in December. With a win over Papot, Paro will occupy the No. 2 spot in the IBF welterweight rankings and could be named as the mandatory challenger to IBF welterweight champion Lewis Crocker.
Papot rocked Paro at the end of Round 4 with a strong left hand, which caused damage to the former champ’s right eye.
Liam Paro’s right eye shows heavy damage after his IBF title eliminator bout against David Papot on Thursday in Brisbane, Australia.
(Chris Hyde via Getty Images)
The eye continued to worsen as the rounds went on and eventually shut, forcing Paro to fight at the ringside doctor’s mercy. If the fight had been stopped at any point, Paro would’ve lost because the eye damage was caused by a punch.
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Paro was controlling the first three rounds behind his jab, outworking the Frenchman and finding a home for his southpaw left hand on Papot’s chin. However, the tide turned after Round 4, with Papot continuing to hurt Paro with left hands in the mid-rounds and forcing Paro onto the back foot. Despite this, Papot was unable to truly capitalize on his success due to a lack of activity. Papot wasn’t busy enough with his punches, and the lack of volume allowed Paro to edge some of the quieter rounds and come back into the contest.
The Queenslander had strong stanzas in the ninth and 10th, backing up Papot with combinations and unloading on him. In the penultimate frame, Papot wobbled Paro again with a left hand in the first minute and looked headed for a strong finish, but Paro rallied back in the final minute of the 11th round to tighten things up and had a good final round with inside work.
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Paro picked up many of the early rounds and finished strong. Papot will surely kick himself for not pushing the pace immediately after Round 4 and searching for a stoppage. At the end of the bout, a 7–5 or 8–4 scorecard for Paro appeared to be an accurate reflection of the contest.
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