fight unbeaten Northern Irishman Lewis Crocker (22-0) for the IBF welterweight world title at Brisbane\u2019s Pat Rafter Arena<\/a>.<\/p>\nVictory would see the Mackay mauler become Australia\u2019s first male boxer since the legendary Jeff Fenech 39 years ago to win world titles in two weight divisions.<\/p>\n
It is a staggering prospect for a fighter who, exactly a decade ago, was so desperate to make it as a pro boxer he was briefly homeless.<\/p>\n
Paro, nicknamed \u2018The Prodigy\u2019, was too scared to call his father for help. Instead, he suffered in silence. Near broke, he broke through. The blue-collar battler has gone from his blue Corolla to blue-chip boxing superstar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was working at the fruit markets at Rocklea at night, doing anything I could to get by,\u201d Paro recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a couple of weeks I lived in my little blue Corolla.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was stuck for a little bit, I had nowhere to stay, so I was living in the \u2018Carol\u2019, as I called her (the car) then.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a crazy time, but it\u2019s part of the story.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to call mum or dad because they wanted me to get a normal job, but I went down to Brisbane to make it in boxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had every reason to give up and go back to a secure job, but I knew what I was capable of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paro\u2019s golden rise is one of Australian sport\u2019s great untold success stories.<\/p>\n
Long before he conquered Puerto Rico\u2019s \u201ckiller\u201d Subriel Matias to claim his first world championship in 2024, before the bright lights and $1 million opportunities, he was a teenager prepared to risk everything on a dream.<\/p>\n
He walked away from an electrical apprenticeship despite warnings from family and friends that he was gambling with his future.<\/p>\n
Many questioned his sanity. Paro never questioned his purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people asked me what my Plan B was,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always felt that if I had a Plan B, I was already thinking about failure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had one plan and I had to make it work.\u201d<\/p>\n
The gamble has paid off spectacularly.<\/p>\n
Two years ago this week, Paro produced the performance of his life to dethrone the \u201cboogeyman\u201d Matias, then the most feared man at super lightweight, and join Australia\u2019s elite club of world champions.<\/p>\n
He later lost the belt to Richardson Hitchins but a move up from super lightweight to welterweight has put the classy southpaw back in the world-title frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won a world title, lost it and now I\u2019m back.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrue champions are judged on how they respond to adversity.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy back has been against the wall before and I\u2019ve shown I can fight my way through it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paro insists there has been no luck involved in his ascent. The 29-year-old bristles at suggestions he has somehow stumbled into success.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing I hate hearing most is people saying I\u2019m lucky,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing lucky about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI created my own luck through hard work, dedication and sacrifice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a long road to get here, but I\u2019d do it all again a thousand times over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crocker arrives as the undefeated champion, carrying an unblemished record and the confidence that comes with holding the belt.<\/p>\n
Paro respects him. He just doesn\u2019t fear him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope Crocker comes in 110 per cent because he\u2019s going to get the best version of Liam Paro,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s undefeated and he has the belt, so you have to respect that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut on Wednesday night it\u2019s business.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very confident people will see a new world champion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a few days away from potentially putting my name in the history books forever.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liam Paro can laugh about it now. The world-title contender who is one win away from carving his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":750535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-750534","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\/750534","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=750534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/750535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=750534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=750534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=750534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}