Liam Paro’s first night as a welterweight was anything but a stroll. The Queenslander had to bite down hard, fighting through a closed eye from round four, but he gutted it out to edge French veteran David Papot over 12 rounds at Brisbane’s Pat Rafter Arena.
The scores told the tale: 117-111, 116-112, 116-112, unanimous for Paro, who moves to 27-1. For Papot, unbeaten in 31 going in, it was a first bitter taste of defeat. The Frenchman mocked shots, shook his head like he was untouchable, but Paro’s cleaner southpaw work was banking rounds and swaying judges.
Blood, Bruises and a Test of Nerve
The fight wasn’t one-way traffic. Papot split Paro’s eye, but Paro returned the favour with a left hand that opened Papot’s brow. By the championship rounds both men were marked up, both still standing. This wasn’t pretty boxing, it was a survival contest – the kind that builds or breaks careers.
Paro, post-fight, kept it blunt: “Same old shit, kept ticking over. That’s boxing and respect to Papot, he was undefeated for a reason. We’re not playing marbles.” Not poetry, but it didn’t need to be. He’s now right in the IBF picture, where Lewis Crocker holds the belt and Eddie Hearn is teasing Crocker vs Conor Benn as the cash fight. Paro’s win forces himself into that conversation.
Liam Wilson Sparks Career Back to Life
If Paro’s was a grind, Liam Wilson delivered violence. Against Jorge Santana he fought like a man who’d had enough of treading water. A straight right, then a filthy left hook in the fourth, and it was over. Brutal, definitive. Wilson, now 17-3, screamed: “Mr Damage is back… I just want to hurt people, with respect.”
Wilson still burns over the long count that denied him against Navarrete in 2021. He dropped him back then, nearly shocked the world, and he wants that kind of redemption fight again. He even threw George Kambosos Jr’s name into the air. That’d be a hell of a local dust-up.
MY TAKE
I had the fight much closer than the judges. Paro proved himself against Papot but Crocker would be a different beast entirely. Paro’s eye swelled shut against Papot, what happens when a true puncher finds him? Still, he’s earned the mandatory call. Benn might duck into the money lane, but Paro’s the grinder waiting at the end of the road.
Wilson? That was the statement of the night. Bloke looked like he wanted to tear Santana’s head off, and sometimes that’s what a career needs – a reminder you can still do damage. Navarrete 2.0 or a Kambosos showdown? Don’t care which, just make it happen. Because Aussie boxing needs fighters who fight angry, not ones banking rounds to squeak by.
Full Results, Brisbane – Pat Rafter Arena
- Liam Paro def. David Papot via UD12 (welterweight)
- Liam Wilson def. Jorge Santana via KO4 (super featherweight)
- Jacob Ng def. Rikki Naito via TKO1 (super welterweight)
- Dharringarra Trewhella def. Lachlan O’Shea via TKO5 (super welterweight)
- Floyd Masson def. Johan Linde via UD6 (60-54 x3) (heavyweight)
- Ken Aitken def. Sonny Knight via SD5 (49-46, 48-47, 47-48) (super welterweight)
- Danny Keating def. Sachin Nautiyal via KO1 (welterweight)
- Matthew Hosking def. Lance McDonald via UD5 (40-35 x2, 39-36) (welterweight)