IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias and challenger Liam Paro weighed 140 pounds at Friday’s weigh-in for their headliner this Saturday night on June 15th at the Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu in Manati, Puerto Rico. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
Matias is stepping down in class from his last opponent, Shohjahon Ergashev, who he stopped in the sixth round last November. The southpaw Paro has respectable power, but he won’t be able to take the fight to Matias like Ergashev (24-1, 21 KOs) was doing.
He was putting serious hands on Matias until the powerful Puerto Rican knockout artist began wearing him down with heavy shots starting from the third. That fight was a real war.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has plans for the Matias vs. Paro fight winner, wanting to match them against Teofimo Lopez or Isaac Cruz. Hearn said Devin Haney is out of the question because he wants him to recover from his last fight.
Undercard Weigh-In Results
Yankiel Rivera 111.7 vs. Victor Sandoval 112
Angel Fierro 140 vs. Alfredo Santiago 140
Stephanie Piniero 146.9 vs. Diana Tapia 146.8
William Ortiz 140.1 vs. Carlos Mitzael 138.6
Experts Weigh In on the Main Event
“He’s got a tough test in Liam Paro, who is undefeated and maybe coming off the best win of his career,” said commentator Chris Mannix to DAZN Boxing about IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias having a tough fight ahead of him this Saturday night against unbeaten Liam Paro.
“Back-to-back good wins in Liam Paro. What I like about him is he’s not only tough, but he brings strength to the table and follows a fight IQ and follows a game plan,” said Sergio Mora.
“Power is not what it takes to intimidate this man from down under because he knows what it takes, and he fights winners. His resume is the goods. Subriel Matias has the numbers and the power that he brings to the table. It’s not going to be enough to intimidate Paro. It’s going to be a hell of a fight.
“Subriel Matias doesn’t bring a lot of technique to the table, and doesn’t bring a lot of footwork to the table, but he does bring raw strength and raw power,” said Mannix.
“The fact that he’s throwing 80+ punches per round, and they’re all power punches,” said Mora about Matias. “He’s a tall, lanky puncher. This is a man that relies on volume, uppercuts and body shots. Once he starts landing to the body, the end is near.”
