Matchroom promote at Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu in Manati, Puerto Rico this Saturday, with Subriel Matias, the home hero, defending his IBF super lightweight title for a second time against Australia’s Liam Paro in the main event.
DAZN televise Matias vs Paro live worldwide.
Matias (20-1, 20 KOs) has only heard the final bell in his professional career once, which was his sole loss in February 2020.
On that occasion, a seventh round knockdown in Petros Ananyan’s favour proved crucial as the Russian took a ten round decision win by one point on two scorecards.
The 32-year-old would avenge that defeat, forcing Ananyan to retire after nine rounds in January 2022, and that paved the way for a world title shot just over a year later.
Matias forced Jeremias Ponce to retire after five rounds, and he defended in November last year, again a retirement victory, this time Shohjahon Ergashev wilting after six rounds.
That was the Puerto Rican’s fifth straight retirement win. He now meets Brisbane-based Paro (24-0, 15 KOs), who is coming off an impressive win last time out.
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In December 2023, the 28-year-old southpaw met Montana Love, and started as underdog, but he dropped the American twice on the way to a sixth round knockout win.
Prediction: This could well be a firefight, with both keen to display their power, but Matias hits hard, and I can see him breaking Paro down, and taking a stoppage win somewhere around halfway.
Fierro faces Santiago
Angel Fierro (22-1-2, 17 KOs) defends his WBO NABO lightweight title for a fifth time on the undercard, and he can take a win on the cards against Alfredo Santiago (14-2, 6 KOs), a Dominican that has lost two of his last four, but that does include a 2019 points reverse to Devin Haney in a bid for the WBC world title.
Figueroa fights Sandoval
In other ten rounders, hot prospect Yankiel Rivera Figueroa (5-0, 2 KOs) can add the vacant WBO Intercontinental flyweight bauble to his WBC Continental Americas belt, by outscoring Victor Efrain Sandoval (37-4, 23 KOs).
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Remaining Undercard
Welterweight prospect, Stephanie Pineiro Aquino (6-0, 2 KOs) should take a handy points win against Diana Tapia Castro (7-1, 2 KOs), and at bantamweight, Jeyvier Cintron (11-1, 5 KOs) can rebound from his loss in a bid for the WBO flyweight title in Japan last time around by halting Carlos Mujica (8-5, 2 KOs).
The final ten round contest is at super bantamweight, where Kevin Gonzalez (26-1-1, 13 KOs) can bank a points win in his encounter with Kenny Demecillo (17-7-2, 10 KOs).
In the sole six rounder, unbeaten Puerto Rican super lightweight, William A. Ortiz-Rivera (5-0, 4 KOs) may need the distance to see off his countryman Carlos Mitzael Jiminez Vazquez (6-2, 3 KOs).
There is also one bout over four rounds, where Nelson Buxo Lozada (2-0, 2 KOs) can stop Alex Pallette (1-0, 1 KO) in their featherweight meeting.
