BRISBANE, Australia -- Liam Paro fired an early shot at IBF welterweight champion Lewis Crocker, claiming the Northern Irishman has adopted the wrong mindset ahead of their blockbuster world title fight on Wednesday evening.
Both Australia's Paro (27-1, 16 KOs) and Crocker (22-0, 11 KOs) comfortably made weight at King George Square in Brisbane on Tuesday afternoon in preparation for their highly anticipated showdown at Pat Rafter Arena. It's a fight the reigning champion from Belfast has embraced underdog status in throughout the lengthy buildup, continually talking up Paro's prospects of being able to salute on home soil, while reiterating the difficulty in defending his strap on the other side of the world.
"If any fighter doesn't back themselves, you're in the wrong sport," said Paro at Monday's official press conference. "When you've got the belt, you hold your chin high and represent. You protect it with everything you've got. The underdog talk already tells me something. But everyone processes things differently. That's the way he deals with it. It's different to how I deal with it. We're not the same men.
"I don't have the belt right now, but I've got the championship mindset. I've been there, I've done it, and I'm ready to make history. World title fights don't get bigger than this. We're going to square off Wednesday night and the better man's going to win. I'm confident I'll walk away with a new belt."
A win for Paro would be history making as the fighter out of Mackay would join boxing great Jeff Fenech as Australia's only male multiple division world champions. Paro took hold of the IBF super-lightweight strap almost two years ago to the day with an upset victory over Subriel Matías in Puerto Rico, though it was relinquished in his first defence against unbeaten American Richardson Hitchins later in the year.
For Crocker, he is seeking to defend the belt he won nine months ago after a split decision victory against Paddy Donovan in his home town of Belfast. Wednesday evening's bout will mark the first time he's fought outside Europe in his professional career.
"If you ask 99 people here, they're going to say Paro is going to win. Going abroad, the doubts, can I do it? Literally by the odds, he is the favourite," said Crocker, who is a $2.25 outsider to retain his title with bookmakers. "I was a big underdog in my last fight and I came through to win the world title. Big respect for Liam, he's a phenomenal fighter, so we're going to put on a great performance.
"Everything's meant to happen for a reason. We're in Australia, fighting the biggest fight of my life; that's all I'm focused on. It would have been great in Belfast, but I won my world title in front of 17,000 people. That'll never be topped. You've got to do what you've got to do, and we're ready."
Paro's promoter No Limit won the hosting rights for the bout with a national record bid of AU$1.152 million earlier in the year, edging Eddie Hearn's Matchroom by just AU$27,000, hence the fight being staged Down Under.
Also featuring on Wednesday evening's card in Brisbane is Australia's junior lightweight Liam Wilson (18-3, 10 KOs), who will square off with unbeaten Kazakh Sultan Zaurbek (20-0, 13 KOs), a fight that is expected to land the victor a world title shot of their own. NRL converts Nelson Asofa-Solomona and George Burgess will also share the ring at Pat Rafter Arena in the co-main event, ending months of tension and barbs between the pair.
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