{"id":669903,"date":"2026-05-14T07:18:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T07:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/669903\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T07:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T07:18:16","slug":"boxing-news-lewis-crocker-promises-war-with-liam-paro-in-brisbane-title-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/669903\/","title":{"rendered":"Boxing news: Lewis Crocker promises war with Liam Paro in Brisbane title fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lewis Crocker has vowed Australia\u2019s Liam Paro will have to almost kill him to claim the IBF welterweight world title when the pair collide in Brisbane next month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The unbeaten Belfast fighter, who has earned a reputation as one of the division\u2019s heavier hitters, delivered the fiery warning ahead of their June 24 showdown at Pat Rafter Arena.<\/p>\n

Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Crocker, 29, has repeatedly insisted he will be the naturally bigger and stronger man on fight night, while Paro maintains his world-level experience and superior skillset will prove decisive.<\/p>\n

But the Northern Irishman says he is prepared to turn the bout into an all-out war.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll have to get me close to death to get me out of there,\u201d Crocker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the biggest moment of my career \u2013 it\u2019ll open many more doors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be very, very, very tough to beat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Should the Queenslander win, he will join an elite group of Aussie fighters to have captured world titles across multiple divisions \u2013 alongside legends such as Jeff Fenech, Anthony Mundine, Vic Darchinyan and Danny Green.<\/p>\n

Paro would also become the first Australian-born boxer since Fenech to win recognised world titles in multiple weight classes across boxing\u2019s four major sanctioning bodies.<\/p>\n

Lewis Crocker and Liam ParoSource: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old\u2019s first world title came at super lightweight, where he stunned Subriel Matias to capture the IBF crown, but questions surrounding his size and power at welterweight continue to surface.<\/p>\n

Crocker\u2019s promoter, Eddie Hearn, believes the Irishman\u2019s size and punching power will prove decisive.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrocker is a huge puncher,\u201d Hearn told Fox Sports Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Liam at 147, that\u2019s a real challenge for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou saw in his last fight against David Papot, who\u2019s not really a world-class fighter, Liam got marked up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Croc\u201d also backed is own power to make the difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m the bigger puncher,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll go in with more experience, in his mind and thinking he\u2019s been in there with better opposition, but I don\u2019t believe he\u2019s been in with a fighter like myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked how he sees the fight unfolding, the unbeaten Irishman made his intentions pretty clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe in my punching power,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I catch anyone in the 147 division I can get them out of there\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I perform at my best I think it\u2019ll be enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Paro insists Crocker\u2019s aggression could play directly into his hands.<\/p>\n

The southpaw expects the Belfast fighter to come forward and attempt to bully him physically \u2013 and says he is ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cI welcome it,\u201d Paro told media earlier in the week. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll walk him onto punches all night long until he can\u2019t take them anymore. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut if he wants to box off the back foot, we\u2019re ready for that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The welterweight division is currently stacked with star power, and a win for the undefeated Belfast fighter over the Australian would put him in line for massive bouts against some of boxing\u2019s biggest names.<\/p>\n

And the same applies for Paro.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so many big names now,\u201d said Crocker.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Ryan] Garcia, [Devin] Haney, [Rolly] Romero \u2013 obviously [Conor] Benn now as well. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey are all superstar names and that\u2019s the sort of names I want to push for. The biggest fights possible\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotta get through Paro, but I want unification fights\u2026 the biggest fight possible, so [I\u2019d like to fight] one of the champions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The title showdown will mark Crocker\u2019s first fight outside the UK, but the Irishman says he has embraced the opportunity to compete in Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got a lot of friends in Australia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of Irish in Australia as well, so I\u2019ve had plenty of messages since the fight was announced from people getting tickets.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be great to get a good crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crocker added: \u201cThere\u2019s worse places to fight than Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful country and I\u2019m really looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spence Jr. vows all-out war with Tszyu | 13:36<\/p>\n

No Limit Boxing boss George Rose believes the clash has all the ingredients to become a classic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t smoke and mirrors, isn\u2019t a manufactured fight,\u201d he stressed on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are two legitimate world level fighters risking everything. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe won the purse bid because we believed this fight belonged in Australia and now Brisbane gets a world title event that will absolutely deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lewis Crocker has vowed Australia\u2019s Liam Paro will have to almost kill him to claim the IBF welterweight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":669904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-669903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}