Liam Paro and Richardson Hitchins were more cordial during their final stare down than was the case 24 hours prior.
The pair of Ring-rated unbeaten junior welterweights eyed each other after they both made weight for their scheduled 12-round bout. Paro was 139.6 pounds in the first defense of his IBF 140-pound title. Hitchins checked in at 139.8 pounds. The two will compete for Paro’s IBF 140-pound title.
DAZN will air their matchup as part of a four-fight main telecast beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET from Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) is The Ring No. 3 junior welterweight, while Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs) is No. 8.
Hitchins chewed on a piece of gum while Paro calmly stared back at his title challenger. The two broke eye contact without incident as they will now rest and mentally prepare for Saturday’s headliner.
Australia’s Paro weighed exactly 140 pounds in his upset title winning effort over Subriel Matias (21-2, 21 KOs), The Ring No. 3 junior welterweight at the time, on June 15 in Manati, P.R. Paro scored a unanimous decision in their DAZN headliner to ruin Matias’ homecoming.
A win by Matias would have seen the knockout artist likely top this weekend’s show. Instead, it is Paro who gets a second straight date on the island.
Hitchins fights outside of the lower 48 states for the first time as a pro.
The Brooklyn, New York native—who represented Haiti in the 2016 Rio Olympics—became the mandatory challenger after an April 6 unanimous decision victory over undefeated Argentinean contender Gustavo Lemos (29-0 at the time) in Las Vegas. There was dispute over the outcome, as several viewers felt Lemos deserved the victory.
Hitchins prevailed by scores of 117-111, 115-113 and 115-113 in their sanctioned IBF title eliminator.
DAZN main undercard, Saturday, 8:00 p.m. local time, 7:00 pm. ET
Henry Lebron (19-0, 10 KOs), Aguadilla, P.R., 130 pounds vs. Christopher Diaz (29-4, 19 KOs), Barranquitas, P.R., 129.8 pounds—10 rounds, junior lightweight
Yankiel Rivera (6-0, 2 KOs), Toa Alta, P.R., 112 pounds vs. Angel Gonzalez (14-0, 7 KOs), Longwood, Florida, 110.8 pounds—10 rounds, flyweight
Marc Castro (13-0, 8 KOs), Fresno, California, 137.2 pounds vs. Agustin Quintana (20-2-1, 13 KOs), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 136.4 pounds—10 rounds, lightweight
‘Before The Bell’ preliminary undercard, Saturday, 4:30 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. ET
William Ortiz (6-0, 4 KOs), Toa Alta, P.R., 140 pounds vs. Lionell Colon (6-0, 3 KOs), Ocala, Florida, 139.2 pounds—8 rounds, junior welterweight
Jalil Hackett (9-0, 7 KOs), Washington, D.C., 147 pounds vs. Jose Roman (13-1, 6 KOs), Bayamon, P.R., 145.8 pounds—10 rounds, welterweight
Juan Zayas (10-0-1, 8 KOs), Bayamon, P.R., 117.4 pounds vs. Geraldo Valdez (16-2, 11 KOs), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 116.6 pounds—8 rounds, bantamweight
Stephanie Pineiro Aquino (7-0, 2 KOs), Bayamon, P.R., 146.4 pounds vs. Kalindra Faria, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 139.8 pounds—8 rounds, welterweight
Carlos Jamil De Leon (2-0, 1 KO), San Juan, 128.2 pounds vs. Jose Guevara (2-2-1, 1 KO), Laredo, Texas, 127.4 pounds—4 rounds, featherweight
Jake Donovan is part of the U.S. team for The Ring. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.