Straight Talk with Mark Bouris
Pro Boxer Liam Paro on Fighting for a World Title, Redemption & Dealing with Adversity
17 Jun 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What motivates Liam Paro to pursue a world title in boxing?
Glenn Parra, welcome to Straight Talk, mate.
Thank you. Thanks for having me. It's a true pleasure.
How are you feeling in your prep?
Feeling really good. You know, like I said, can't miss this opportunity, mate. So, yeah, ready, ready to make history and hopefully join the likes of the great Jeff Fennec in the same sentence as two-division champion. So, yeah, just excited.
You're fighting in a world-weight division, 147 pounds, is that right? Correct, yeah. What is that in kilos these days?
66.67, I think, to be exact.
66.67 kilos. For some reason, everyone still works in pounds because it's an American system. But Liam has got an upper weight division, which is not that much, really. I mean, it's only a couple of pounds. It's not a big deal because normally you're in the super lightweight division. Traditionally, you've been super light. That was your last world title.
Correct, yeah.
Was it super lightweight? Super lightweight, yeah.
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Chapter 2: How does Liam Paro handle weight cuts and their physical effects?
I mean, you're not, you're not many, Manny Pacquiao's attacking, Jeff Fennec would be attacking, he just doesn't give a shit, just attacking someone, right? But not many people had the, Probably that physical ability that Jeff had in terms of his fitness, like his fitness is next level.
Exactly.
To anyone I've ever known.
Yeah.
He would have been, I'd say he would have been the fittest boxer in history.
Yeah.
Maybe not the most technical.
But just fitness.
And relentless.
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Chapter 3: What personal adversity has Liam faced that impacts his boxing career?
Super lightweight. Yeah, super lightweight right from the start until two fights ago.
So that's under 23, isn't it? Is it under 23?
Under 23, yeah. Under 23, yeah.
And we've had a number of world champions in this country, but we don't have too many at the moment. Although I saw Andrew Maloney picked up the title this week.
Yeah, he did. Which is amazing. Actually, funny story. I was watching that. I went to the AFL on the weekend and... Me and Jonathan Brown were watching that fight, Andrew Maloney's fight in the box up there. I love him. I think he's awesome. Congratulations to Maloney. Good on you, mate. Well done.
I mean, I'm a Maloney fan, both of them. It was amazing that he won it because it's been a big comeback for him.
Massive.
It's been a big journey for him. How old will he be?
I think 34.
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Chapter 4: How does fitness influence success in boxing at an elite level?
This is what I'm doing. So my body knows what to do. You know what I mean? And yeah, it's just, it's just the way it is, I guess. Like it's, yeah, that's a good question, but it's, that's it. Like I'm my happiest though when I'm fighting. I really am. I just love it so much.
You don't mind getting hit?
I don't care. It's all part of it. You can't swim without getting wet. You know what I mean? Kind of happened when I signed up to do this stuff and I love it, you know, it's character building.
So yeah, it's funny, you know, because, you know, the romantic side of the fight game is, you know, you think of Rocky movies and stuff like that and he looks across there and he sees Adrian and he misses and then he comes, does the big comeback and he wins the fight. I mean, do you ever rely on your wife or family or your mum or dad or anyone else in the crowd?
Do you ever, have you ever looked across? No. Got a bit of motivation and inspiration?
Nah, look, I know that. I know that's in me already, you know. If the going gets tough and another one is my late mate, Rig and Greed, that I promised a world title. All Alfie's got to do is RG, you know, that's it. You know you're doing this for, you know, he's made a promise and... Tell us the story about that. Well, he was my best mate, you know, grew up in Mackay.
We grew up together playing footy, right up, went to school together and... Yeah, he was signed with the Cowboys. He was an unbelievable NRL player, would have been superstar, hand on heart, unbelievable. At about 17, 18, he was 6'3", 100 kilos, run like an 11 second 100 meters, just a freak athlete.
And unfortunately battled mental health, you know, and he lost his battle and then took his own life in 2015. which was devastating. It was a pretty rough time in life, and that's when, before when I said I've faced bigger adversity outside the ring than what I've ever faced in there, and that was one of them. You know, that time in life was pretty...
down, you know, because dad just had a big, um, uh, operation, he was in hospital, nearly passed away from, um, a bowel, a bowel thing, it wasn't, um, osteocolitis or something like that, it was close, so he was, he got rushed to Townsville, he, um, come back, Because, yeah, it was... He was close, you know. And if they didn't get it when he did, I would have lost him.
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Chapter 5: What insights does Liam Paro share about the mental game in boxing?
Not at all.
It's either the first minute and a half or the last minute of the last round. It doesn't make much difference. You get paid the same amount of money.
Exactly right.
It's funny because I remember George Cambosa sitting here once and he said to me, he's prepared to die in the ring for his family. Yeah. He said, look, I'm prepared to die.
Yeah. 100%. It's a big call. It is a big call. But like I said, we know the risk we're going in for. You know what I mean? And that's it. We're soldiers. We're warriors. And that's what we do. We're going in there. And the main motivation is to fight for a better life for us and our loved ones. That's a good way of putting it, actually. It is. That's what we're in there for. You know what I mean?
It's taken so much of... so much sacrifices to get here and yeah, it's just, that's what we're doing it for. We're doing it to give us, our family better lives.
Tell me about the No Limit guys because I'm talking to you when you signed up a couple of years ago now, would it be three, three, four years ago?
Last year.
Last year was it?
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