Liam Paro Digs Deep to Overcome David Papot on a Midweek Card in Queensland

Former IBF 140-pound title-holder Liam Paro returned to the ring tonight as a welterweight and won a hard-earned 12-round decision over previously undefeated David Papot. The match, a PPV event in Australia, was the headliner of a card at a 5,500-seat tennis center on the outskirts of Brisbane, Australia. This was the second fight back for the Queenslander after losing his belt on a split decision to Richardson Hitchins in Puerto Rico.

Papot, a 34-year-old Frenchmen, was undefeated (29-0-1) heading in, but yet something of a mystery as all but one of his fights were in France. With only five knockouts to his credit, he seemingly didn’t punch hard enough to hurt the heavily-tattooed Paro, but it was he, Papot, who landed the best punch of the fight, a left hook near the end of round four which caused an immediate swelling over Paro’s right eye. At the finish, the eye was completely shut.

The fight was up for grabs after eight rounds, but Papot, who had fought extensively as a middleweight and who struggled to get down to 147 pounds, had less steam in his boiler as the match wended to a conclusion. The judges had it 117-111, 116-112, 116-112 for the Aussie, scores that did not reflect the competitiveness of the contest.

“Credit to Papot, he was undefeated for a reason,” said Paro who improved to 27-1 (16). As for the injured optic, he said, “That’s boxing, we’re not playing marbles.”

The bout was framed as an IBF welterweight eliminator which makes Paro first in line to challenge the newly-crowned title-holder Lewis Crocker who won the vacant belt last Saturday with an upset of Paddy Donovan in an all-Ireland affair in Belfast. (You may have missed that one as there was a bigger fight happening the same day in Las Vegas.)

Co-Feature

Local fan favorite Liam Wilson, a junior lightweight, improved to 17-3 (9 KOs) with a fourth-round KO of Jorge Santana, a 24-year-old Dominican. Wilson landed a big left hand near the end of the round and Santana (15-2) went down for the count.

Wilson, 29, fights out of an orthodox stance but his best weapon is his left hook. He used it to detach Emanuel Navarrete from his senses in the fourth round of their 2023 encounter in Arizona, but Navarrete was smart to spit out his mouthpiece and precious seconds elapsed as it was being retrieved and refitted. The Mexican eventually fought his way into the fight and kept his title on a ninth-round stoppage.

Liam Wilson has been chasing the Mexican for a rematch ever since and Wilson’s promoter George Rose hopes to make it happen on Australian soil before the year is over. However, that timetable is unlikely as Navarrete has been ordered to give Charley Suarez a rematch after their first bout ended in a no-contest. A more likely scenario would find Wilson locking horns with countryman George Kambosos, a match that has also been on Liam Wilson’s radar screen.

Photo credit: No Limit Boxing

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