There’s now a new IBF welterweight titleholder. Next comes the matter of determining a new mandatory challenger.
This past weekend, Lewis Crocker won the IBF belt at 147lbs with a debatable split decision victory in his rematch with Paddy Donovan. This Thursday, Liam Paro (ranked seventh) and David Papot (eighth) will face off in an elimination bout.
The IBF’s top two spots are vacant, followed by Donovan in the third spot, Ricardo Salas Rodriguez at No. 4, Raul Curiel at No. 5 and Karen Chukhadzhian at No. 6.
Here’s what else you need to know:
When is Liam Paro vs. David Papot?
Liam Paro vs. David Papot is on Thursday, September 18. The broadcast will begin at 7 p.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time (5 a.m. Eastern Time in the U.S., 10 a.m. BST in the U.K).
What channel is Liam Paro vs. David Papot on?
Liam Paro vs. David Papot is available in Australia as a pay-per-view via Main Event on Kayo Sports. No outlets have been named yet in the U.S. or U.K.
Where is Liam Paro vs. David Papot?
The fight is taking place at Pat Rafter Arena at the Queensland Tennis Centre in Brisbane, Australia.
Who is Liam Paro?
Paro, 26-1 (16 KOs), is a former junior welterweight titleholder who is competing for the second time since losing his IBF belt at 140lbs to Richardson Hitchins last December. That defeat ended a reign that lasted less than six months and just the one unsuccessful defense.
He’d gone to Puerto Rico to seize the title from Matias in June 2024 and returned there for the Hitchins match. Indeed, Paro, a 29-year-old from Brisbane, Australia, had become accustomed to making long flights in order to make bigger fights. Between the end of 2021 and the end of 2024, he traveled to North America for four of his five outings, which also included wins over the previously undefeated Yomar Alamo and the once-beaten Montana Love.
Paro had a homecoming of sorts this past June in Cairns – “of sorts” as Cairns is more than 1,000 miles away from Brisbane, a distance longer than the entire California coast. He stopped the 18-1 Jonathan Navarro after five rounds.
Paro came in just shy of 144lbs for Navarro. He’s set on competing at welterweight, a wide open division given the lack of depth and how vulnerable three of the four titleholders (Mario Barrios, Crocker, Rolando Romero) are perceived to be.
Who is David Papot?
Papot, 30-0-1 (5 KOs), is a 34-year-old from France. It’s possible that his lack of knockout power was exacerbated by competing in heavier weight classes for most of his career. Papot had mostly been at junior middleweight and middleweight, including for the lone blemish on his record, a 2019 draw with James McGirt Jnr, son of former fighter and longtime trainer Buddy McGirt.
In April 2024, Papot dropped down within the welterweight limit and outpointed the 17-0-1 Jon Miguez. His last fight was last November, when Papot scored a rare stoppage, taking out the 18-0 Josh Wagner in the seventh round.
The McGirt fight took place in the United States and was Papot’s sole pro boxing match away from home. This will be Papot’s second time, and he’s hoping for a better result than the first.
What other fights are on the undercard of Liam Paro vs. David Papot?
The undercard includes lightweight Liam Wilson, 16-3 (8 KOs), against Jorge Santana, 15-1 (9 KOs). Wilson suffered a ninth-round TKO loss to Emanuel Navarrete in a bout for a vacant junior lightweight belt in February 2023, and he was dispatched in the seventh round by Oscar Valdez in an interim title bout in March 2024.
Also on this show: junior middleweight Brock Jarvis, 23-2 (21 KOs), is back for the second time since his TKO3 loss to Keith Thurman in March; and Paolo Aokuso, 8-0 (4 KOs), a light heavyweight who competed in the Olympics in 2021, will face Shukhrat Abdullaev, 5-0 (4 KOs).
The full list of undercard fights can be seen on BoxRec.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
