Australia’s Liam Paro is plotting a world title defence before Christmas and a blockbuster unification early next year, declaring he won’t sit around waiting for rival champions.
Fresh from a lesson in marketing from wrestling stars Jeff Jarrett and Paul Wight – better known as Big Show – the Aussie southpaw is ready to get back to business inside the ropes.
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Paro told Fox Sports Australia he is targeting a defence of his IBF crown against a top-15 opponent in late November or early December, before pursuing American superstar Ryan Garcia in the opening months of 2027.
Nothing is locked in, but Paro has a clear idea of how he wants the next few months to unfold.
“We’re not going to sit on the sideline,” Paro said.
“I’m going to defend, looking to defend late November, early December with a top-15 opponent, keep busy, and hopefully snag Garcia early next year.”
Paro said he understood Garcia wanted another fight before the Cinco de Mayo weekend, identifying late January or early February as a potential window.
And while he would love to bring that showdown to Australia, heading overseas would hardly be a deal-breaker.
“I’d love to fight him here, but if it means travelling to Vegas … that’s on my bucket list, to headline in Vegas,” he said.
“I’ll go there too. I don’t care. I’ve proved that before.”
Having beaten Subriel Matias in Puerto Rico, Paro knows what it takes to win on someone else’s turf.
Now he wants another opportunity to test himself against the best.
“In a perfect world, I’ll have a good defence late November, early December, rolling into the new year, early months with a unification with Garcia, and that would be unbelievable,” he said.
“But we’re not waiting around twiddling our thumbs. We are fighting. That’s what I’m here to do.”
Paro outlined his plans after joining Nikita Tszyu, Paul Aokuso, Callum Peters and a host of other Aussie boxers for a Zoom session with Jarrett and Wight, who spoke from the US about marketing themselves in combat sports.
For Paro, it was a chance to hear from men he had watched growing up – and pick their brains about the business beyond the punches.
“It was a good experience. It was pretty cool watching The Big Show there,” he said.
“It was just good to see their insight … they’ve made millions. They’ve made a good living out of what they do, and like they said, they are in the entertainment business.”
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Jarrett explained that fighters were competing against more than the opponent across the ring.
They were also up against everything else that could claim a fan’s time and money on fight night.
His message was that audiences needed to know who a fighter was, have a reason to like or dislike them, and know when and where to watch.
That prompted Paro to raise the challenge of promoting himself in Australia, where he believes confidence can quickly be interpreted as cockiness.
“It’s a very fine line here between confident and cocky,” Paro told the pair.
Wight’s response was that selling a fight did not require every boxer to become the loudest bloke in the room.
“There’s a quiet confidence that’s also doable,” he said.
“Nobody says you have to be loud on either of the spectrum. You have to find out what works for you.”
Paro is trying to strike that balance himself.
A recent social media post calling out Devin Haney and Garcia attracted plenty of attention, even if trading jabs online is hardly his preferred way of securing a fight.
“It got a lot of traction,” he said.
“If that’s the way you’re going to have to get big fights, so be it.
“I’m a warrior. I’m a fighter, and I’d rather let my hands do the talking.”
Asked whether there was one champion he wanted more than the others, Paro insisted the opportunity mattered more than the name.
“Whoever puts a hand up first, I want to fight,” he said.
“It’s about testing yourself.
“I’m a two-division world champion now, so I’ve got the credentials … I don’t care which order it is or who comes first. Just give me one of them.”
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As for a potential all-Australian showdown with former world champ George Kambosos, Paro said there was work to be done before that became a realistic option.
“The IBF said they won’t sanction him. He needs to come off a win. I need to defend against a top-15er,” Paro said.
“If it’s there down the track, 100 per cent. But at the moment, it makes no sense to me.
“So if he gets a few good wins under his belt, that’s potential to be a good Aussie blockbuster.”