Liam Paro is on the cusp of Australian boxing history \u2013 and the Queensland warrior is carrying far more than world-title dreams into his blockbuster showdown with unbeaten champion Lewis Crocker.<\/p>\n
The Mackay southpaw will fight for the IBF welterweight crown next Wednesday night in Brisbane, with Paro primed to emulate the legendary Jeff Fenech as Australia\u2019s first two-division world champion in 39 years.<\/p>\n
But beyond the bright lights and belts, Paro says his biggest fight is helping tackle the mental-health crisis that rocked his own life after the shock death of his best mate Regan Grieve in 2015.<\/p>\n
Paro has joined forces with Queensland Origin legend Greg Inglis and his Goanna Academy, which has launched its \u201cStick With It\u201d campaign aimed at encouraging Australians to reach out during dark times.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable,\u201d Paro said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got the opportunity to work with Greg Inglis and the Goanna Academy, anyone who knows me knows mental health is very close to home and it\u2019s a movement that needs more recognition.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to stick with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paro\u2019s involvement with Inglis\u2019 foundation comes from a deeply personal place.<\/p>\n
On Australia Day in 2015, Paro was left devastated by the tragic loss of Grieve, who was just 18 and on the path to NRL stardom with the North Queensland Cowboys.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the hardest period of my life,\u201d Paro said of Grieve\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was like a brother to me. We used to talk about everything and it was a battle he didn\u2019t let anyone know what was going on, so it shows how serious it is in Australia and in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cMen\u2019s mental health is crazy and it\u2019s something we need to shine more light on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking with Greg on this is something I will never let go.\u201d<\/p>\n
The timing could not be more poignant.<\/p>\n
Seven days out from the biggest fight of his life, Paro (27-1) is chasing immortality against undefeated Belfast brawler Crocker (22-0) as he looks to become the first Australian-born male fighter since Fenech in 1987 to win world titles in two divisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s crazy,\u201d Paro said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only other Australian-born fighter to be a two-division world champion is Jeff Fenech.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a week away from making that a reality and writing my name in the history books forever – but I have to seal the deal first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inglis lauded Paro\u2019s courage inside and outside the ring as the former Maroons skipper urged all Australians to reach out for help with their mental health.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiam is up for his world title fight and you can see him wearing the Queensland Maroons shirt,\u201d Inglis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Goanna Academy is about preventing mental health issues and our campaign is about sticking with your mates through bad times.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour life is worth living. You are valued and you have loved ones around you who care deeply for you.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a chat with Liam, he is just another person with his own story to tell.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope he steps into the ring next week and walks out with the belt … no pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paro, who overcame Frenchman David Papot (30-1-1) last September in his debut at welterweight, says Crocker will be shocked by his power.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I\u2019m a fully-fledged welterweight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want the best Crocker because he will get the best Liam Paro.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the all-round better boxer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t look like I whack hard until you get on the receiving end.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk anyone who has been in the gym and shared the ring with me and they will tell you.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has the belt, he is undefeated, so you have to respect him, but Wednesday night you will see a new world champion.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liam Paro is on the cusp of Australian boxing history \u2013 and the Queensland warrior is carrying far…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":741916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-741915","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\/741915","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=741915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/741916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=741915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=741915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=741915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}