{"id":882882,"date":"2026-09-07T05:02:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T05:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/882882\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T05:02:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T05:02:12","slug":"boxing-2026-paddy-donovan-calls-out-aussie-champion-liam-paro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/882882\/","title":{"rendered":"Boxing 2026: Paddy Donovan calls out Aussie champion Liam Paro"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Liam Paro has been issued a direct challenge by his mandatory challenger, with Irish star Paddy Donovan declaring he will fight the Aussie world champion anywhere.<\/p>\n<p>Donovan wasted little time turning his attention towards Paro after producing a dominant stoppage victory over Tyrone McKenna on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>IBC 05: Hardman v Camilleri | Wednesday September 23 from 7pm AEST | The World\u2019s fastest growing combat sport returns with a showdown for the ages, as Isaac Hardman takes on veteran boxer Joel Camilleri in the Gold Coast. | <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au\/en-AU\/welcome\/ppv\/ibc-05?extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkboxing-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-box-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788757332_430_poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The 27-year-old dropped McKenna with a vicious body shot in the second round before opening a nasty cut above his opponent\u2019s eye, prompting the ringside doctor to call a stop to the contest during the fourth.<\/p>\n<p>And with his dangerous assignment complete, Donovan immediately called for a shot at Paro\u2019s IBF welterweight crown.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLiam Paro, let\u2019s go. Sign it,\u201d Donovan told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2HULeikcZkU\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">IFL TV.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll fight you anywhere. Get the paper and get it signed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to become world champion and I want to challenge the best welterweights in the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s where I am right now. That\u2019s where my mind is. That\u2019s where my career is pushing me towards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Liam Paro, if you\u2019re listening, sign the contract, baby.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paddy Donovan and Liam ParoSource: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n<p>Donovan then revealed he had already spoken to Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn about making the fight, while suggesting Paro viewed him as a high-risk, low-reward opponent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe spoke about this fight,\u201d Donovan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a reason Liam Paro doesn\u2019t want to take the fight with me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs Eddie said, he\u2019s looking for a big payday and he just doesn\u2019t want to fight me. Why would he?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe money isn\u2019t as big as fighting one of the other champions and it\u2019s a bigger risk for him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s not going to beat me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with DAZN last week, Hearn said his fighter would defeat the Aussie.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m very sure that Paddy Donovan will beat Liam Paro,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why we have to keep our foot on the necks of these governing bodies so they install the rules that they set.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to make sure that these rules are followed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paro has not publicly indicated he is unwilling to face Donovan, but has made no secret of his desire to chase the biggest fights available following his gritty world-title win over Lewis Crocker in Brisbane.<\/p>\n<p>The Queenslander has recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/boxing\/boxing-2026-liam-paro-fires-back-after-ryan-garcias-worldtitle-insult\/news-story\/d2fa66d1cd27358c6ed3df521203a7fc\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">traded barbs with WBC champion Ryan Garcia<\/a>, challenging the American superstar to a unification bout after Garcia dismissed him as merely \u201crenting\u201d his IBF strap.<\/p>\n<p>Paro responded by telling Garcia: \u201cIf I\u2019m so easy, let\u2019s unify next! Come get it, bitch!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He later teased that \u201cfight news\u201d would be arriving soon, although his next opponent is yet to be formally announced.<\/p>\n<p>Donovan, however, believes he should be the man standing across the ring from Paro.<\/p>\n<p>Liam Paro pictured against Lewis CrockerSource: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n<p>The Irish southpaw secured his position as the IBF\u2019s mandatory challenger by defeating Karen Chukhadzhian via majority decision in Germany in May, but risked that status to compete on Sunday\u2019s historic Croke Park card.<\/p>\n<p>His victory over McKenna improved his pro record to 16-2 with 12 knockouts and rebuilt further momentum following his two losses to Crocker.<\/p>\n<p>Donovan was controversially disqualified for punching after the bell in their first meeting before losing a narrow split decision in their rematch for the vacant IBF title.<\/p>\n<p>Crocker subsequently lost the belt to Paro, who claimed a unanimous-decision victory in Brisbane to become a two-division world champion.<\/p>\n<p>MORE BOXING:<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Line \u2019em up\u2019: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/boxing\/boxing-2026-jermell-charlo-fires-back-at-tim-tszyu-after-instagram-taunt\/news-story\/5a4090b07b4f3b93025e313454419e37\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Charlo fires back at Tszyu after Aussie reignites bitter rivalry<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2018S**t his pants\u2019: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/boxing\/boxing-2026-tyson-fury-calls-off-joshua-fight-challenges-usyk-to-trilogy\/news-story\/3d2d4c3627a1eda2bb33418158d2703d\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Circus continues as Fury claims AJ fight is OFF&#8230; and challenges another superstar<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hrgovic STUNS Itauma | 02:56<\/p>\n<p>That result has now placed the Aussie directly in Donovan\u2019s sights.<\/p>\n<p>And after dispatching the famously tough McKenna in destructive fashion, the mandatory challenger wants all the smoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGet the paper and get it signed,\u201d Donovan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLiam Paro, if you\u2019re listening, sign the contract, baby.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want my belt.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liam Paro has been issued a direct challenge by his mandatory challenger, with Irish star Paddy Donovan declaring&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":882883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-882882","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\/882882","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=882882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/882883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}