Australia’s Liam Paro continues his habit of taking on tough competition when he makes the maiden defense of his IBF super lightweight title against Richardson Hitchins at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on December 7.
The 12-round bout, plus undercard action, will be broadcast by DAZN.
WATCH: Liam Paro vs. Richardson Hitchins, live on DAZN
Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) crashed the elite level with an upset world title win over feared knockout artist Subriel Matias in June.
In what was a career-defining triumph, the Australian southpaw imposed his boxing skills on the defending champion and displayed the requisite toughness whenever Matias scored with a bomb.
“I’m a true warrior, I’ll fight anyone, anywhere and I’m not afraid of no challenge,” Paro told Hitchins on DAZN’s Face Off episode.
“Meet me in the center of the ring and don’t run. The Puerto Rican fans deserve better. You need to prove you have this X-factor you keep talking about.”
Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs) is the IBF’s mandatory challenger. In April, the New York-born stylist was tested for the first time in his career by the previously-unbeaten Gustavo Lemos but did enough to secure a decision triumph.
Fully confident in his ability, the American star promises to be at his very best in his first title bout.
“I gotta be a professional, I’m fighting a world champion,” said Hitchins. “Liam is a guy who’s trained his ass off and he’s coming to fight.
“I’m not about to play with this guy, just like he’s not gonna be playing with me. I’ve got to make sure that everything is clicking on all cylinders.”
The Sporting News looks at the odds for this battle of unbeaten super lightweights and makes a final prediction.
Liam Paro vs. Richardson Hitchins odds, betting
Per BetMGM, Paro is the -125 favorite while Hitchins is the +110 underdog. The draw is +1400.
Liam Paro vs. Richardson Hitchins prediction
This is a very intriguing matchup and, as the odds suggest, it’s something of a 50-50 affair.
Hitchins may have a slight edge in terms of speed and natural talent but he’s in deep against a fighter who is determined to test him to the limit.
Can the challenger box effectively over the 12-round distance against a world-class super lightweight? This one promises to be a baptism by fire.
Paro more than proved himself in wins against Montana Love and Matias, upsetting the odds in both of those bouts.
As well as being a highly competent boxer and counterpuncher, the champion has excellent conditioning and he’s shown the ability to adjust to different styles.
In his fight against Love, Paro was able to stay with the quicker man and hold his own in a boxing posture. However, when the moment came, the Australian made his power count and punched the fight out of his opponent for a sixth-round TKO.
The guess is that Paro can repeat that type of performance and break Hitchins down over time.
SN Prediction: Paro TKO 10 (-125)
