Liam Paro defends his IBF light welterweight title for the first time this Saturday, December 7th, against mandatory Richardson Hitchins at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Paro, 28, says he hears that Hitchins is a “quitter,” he wants to see if that label is true by testing him on Saturday.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Paro’s First Title Defense
It’s an interesting location for the Paro vs. Hitchins fight, considering neither guy is Puerto Rican. Paro defeated former IBF 140-lb champion Subriel Matias by a 12-round unanimous decision on June 15th in Manati, Puerto Rico.
The Paro-Hitchins event will be shown live on DAZN at 7:00 pm ET. On the undercard, former Puerto amateur talent flyweight Yaniel Rivera (6-0, 2 KOs) faces unbeaten Angel Gonzalez (14-0, 7 KOs) in a ten-round fight. Rivera, 27, might be the reason why the Paro vs. Hitchins fight is being staged in Puerto Rico.
Hitchins, 27, did not perform well in his last fight, winning a controversial 12-round unanimous decision against Gustavo Lemos on April 6th. A lot of people thought Hitchins lost. What makes matters worse is Lemos was recently destroyed in two rounds by Keyshawn Davis on November 8th.
“I’m built tough. It’s in me. In my last fight against Gustavo Lemos, he brought something out of me that I showed the world. It was something I knew in myself, but he brought it out,” said Richardson Hitchins to DAZN Boxing, talking about his last fight on April 6th.
“I was hurt in that fight, and I had to go to the next level. That was a tough fight. Me knowing I could go through that, it just goes to show that you got to kill me to stop me. Once he beat Matias, I was the IBF mandatory. He had no choice but to fight me,” said Richardson about Liam Paro.
“I don’t think it was a fight that he wanted, but as a champion, he took on the challenge. I’m not saying he’s scared, but as a champion, he has to defend his throne,” said Hitchins about Liam.
It doesn’t sound great to hear Hitchins talk about how tough he was from absorbing a beating from Lemos. That performance was so bad that there should have been a rematch, and it’s troubling that Hitchins didn’t mention that when he was being interviewed.
Quitter or Warrior?
“His talk doesn’t burn me up. I know what I can do in the ring. I don’t have to try to tell people what I’m about. They know what I’m about. I’ve heard numerous times from numerous people that he’s a quitter. I believe once a quitter, always a quitter. So, I’m definitely going to test that, and we’re going to see if he’s about it,” said Paro about Hitchins.
Paro vs. Hitchins Undercard
Henry Lebron vs. Christopher Diaz
Jalil Hackett vs. Jose Roman
William Ortiz vs. Lionel Colon
Yankiel Rivera vs. Angel Gonzalez
Marc Castro vs. Agustin Ezequiel Quintana
Stephanie Pineiro Aquino vs. Ogleidis Suarez
