Australia's Liam Paro has stunned Subriel Matias to claim the IBF super lightweight title in Puerto Rico.
Coming in as a 5/1 underdog, Paro boxed beautifully to take out a unanimous decision victory (115-112x2, 116-111) in the incumbent champion's backyard.
Matias had knocked out his opponent in all 20 of his professional victories and was expected to do similar to the undefeated 28-year-old from Queensland.
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Paro, however, had other ideas, pulling off the win on the back of a superb gameplan and skilled boxing.
The southpaw started the fight excellently, keeping the powerful Matias at bay with some sharp combinations, high volume and classy footwork.
Rather than try to blast the notoriously slow starting Matias out of there, Paro banked most of the early rounds, occasionally sitting down on left hands to the body and hooks around the guard, but, for the most part, sticking and moving.
Matias tried at times to change gears and looked as if he was getting to Paro through the middle rounds but the Australian caught a second wind and, were it not for some terrible refereeing and a ridiculous point deduction, would have won by an even greater margin.
Down on the cards in front of a restless crowd, Matias looked for the shot that might change proceedings through the final few rounds but Paro did well to avoid most of the attacks and even score with his own, securing one of Australian boxing's great modern victories.
Take a look at all the results below:
Subriel Matias vs. Liam Paro full card results
- Liam Paro def. Subriel Matias via UD12 for the IBF super lightweight title
- Yankiel Rivera def. Victor Sandoval via UD10; flyweight
- Alfredo Santiago def. Angel Fierro via UD10; super lightweight
- Stephanie Piñeiro def. Diana Tapia via UD10; welterweight
- William Ortiz def. Luis Gonzalez via UD6; super lightweight
What time is Subriel Matias vs. Liam Paro?
The Matias vs. Paro main card kicks off at 7:30pm ET on Saturday, June 15.
Viewers can expect the fighters to step into the ring for the main event around 10:50pm ET.
All times are approximate and will depend on the length of the earlier bouts.
Date | Main card | Matias vs. Paro | |
US (ET) | Sat. June 15 | 7:30pm | 10:50pm |
US (PT) | Sat. June 15 | 4:30pm | 7:50pm |
Australia (AEST) | Sun. June 16 | 9:30am | 12:50pm |
UK | Sun. June 16 | 12:30am | 3:50pm |
How to watch Subriel Matias vs. Liam Paro: TV channel, live stream
Fans can tune into all the action from the Matias vs. Paro card live on streaming platform DAZN.
This is not a pay-per-view event, which means existing DAZN subscribers can watch at no extra cost.