Liam Paro may already have a leg up on his venture into the welterweight division.
For the moment, the former IBF 140lbs titlist will be the only fighter eligible to land a title shot with a win on Thursday. Brisbane’s Paro tipped the scales at a fit and trim 146.7lbs for his sanctioned IBF welterweight title eliminator. France’s David Papot managed to get down to the 147lbs limit, roughly 20 minutes after officially coming in 40 grams (roughly 0.1lbs) over the limit,
Their scheduled 12-round welterweight fight comes with a hard 147lbs limit, which means Papot had two hours to shed the additional weight. He initially weighed 147.3lbs before he stripped and weighed in again while covered only by a bath towel.
Regardless, Paro has every intention of proceeding with the contest.
“I’m ready to fight,” Paro told host and Australia media personality extraordinaire Ben Damon. “If he wants to fight for the title, he has to a professional and make weight."
Paro-Papot will air live on Australia Main Events and Kayo Sports this Thursday from Pat Rafter Arena in Tennyson, Queensland, Australia. With a win, Paro will become the mandatory challenger to recently crowned IBF welterweight titleholder Lewis Crocker.
Papot, 30-0-1 (5 KOs) aims to beat Paro in what would be a major upset. The 34-year-old southpaw will fight for the first time outside of his native France.
Paro, 26-1 (15 KOs) fights for the second time since the end of his IBF junior welterweight title reign. He earned the belt with an upset win over Subriel Matias last June on the road in Manati, Puerto Rico. He returned to the island for a December 7 title defense against Richardson Hitchins, who outpointed Paro over 12 rounds.
Not one to dwell on heartache, Paro has chosen to keep the line moving.
The 29-year-old southpaw earned a 5th round stoppage of Jonathan Navarro on June 25 in Cairns, Australia. The bout was Paro’s first fight on home soil since a 1st round knockout of then-unbeaten countryman Brock Jarvis in what marked Matchroom Boxing’s first foray into the Australian market.
Paro’s weight on Wednesday (local time) was his heaviest since 2017, though still within the contracted limit.
“I love this shit. I feel good and ready to make my presence felt in the welterweight division,” vowed Paro.”
Weights for the full card are below.
Liam Paro (146.7lbs) vs. David Papot (147lbs) - 12 rounds, IBF welterweight eliminator
Liam Wilson (130lbs) vs. Jorge Santana (129.5lbs) - 10 rounds, junior featherweight
Jacob Ng (153.7lbs) vs. Rikki Naito (153.9lbs) - 6 rounds, junior middleweight
Dharringarra Trewhella (149.3lbs) vs. Lachlan O’Shea (149.5lbs) - 6 rounds, junior middleweight
Sonny Knight (164.9lbs) vs. Ken Aitken (162.2lbs) - 8 rounds, super middleweight
Danny Keating (149.9lbs) vs. Sachin Nautiyal (150.7lbs) - 5 rounds, welterweight
Matthew Hosking (144lbs) vs. Lance McDonald (143lbs) - 4 rounds, welterweight
Weights to come: Floyd Masson vs. Johan Linde - 6 rounds, heavyweight