Pro Boxer Liam Paro on Fighting for a World Title, Redemption & Dealing with Adversity
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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.
140 pounds, yep.
140 pounds, seven pounds lighter. Let's take you outside of training. What was you normally walking around at?
Look, now, getting a bit older, just touched 30, I'm about 78, 79 kilos. My body wouldn't actually get to.
Normally, yeah.
Normally, yeah. When I'm keeping regularly fit but not camp mode. So, that was a big enough indication, you know. Yeah, look, I've been a 140 pounder for my whole career. I started professional at 18 years old and it's only two fights ago I decided to go up after I lost the title to Richardson Hitchens. Look, no excuses. I felt good on the night but... the last few fights of weight cut was starting to get pretty brutal. And like I said, when I was naturally getting over the 73 mark, I was saying, hang on, it's time to let the body do its thing and mature. And yeah, now we're up at welterweight and finally filled in here.
If you're walking around at 78, but you're fighting at 67 now, you were talking about 11 kilos. Yeah. Your prep period's like 12, what are you, 12, 14 weeks out of the fight?
Yeah, well, this one was a shorter one, but... Shorter. It was a nine-week camp, so... Wow. ...kind of... Yeah, but look, in saying that, it's not those three to four kilos of killing myself now. You know, like 147, I've got the room to sit naturally heavy, I thank God, because I wouldn't have made 140 in nine weeks. It would have been impossible.
Let's say you had 12 weeks to make 140. You probably could make it, but maybe you could explain the net effect on you. Because when you go into the fight, you're only weighing a day or two before. You might get a bit of rehydration back, but you've lost a lot of power and strength there.
Oh, 100%. Like I said, it's those crucial three to four kilos that was getting into my muscle masses. The water weight was gone. So I'm actually digging into my body now, which doesn't make sense. 24 hours, I'm at my weakest where I've got to perform the next day at the best of my ability. So it was getting to that. And 24 hours just wasn't enough time to replenish. It just wasn't. It's dangerous too. Very dangerous. You're taking the fluid away from your brain and You see in boxing a lot, unfortunately, it happens a lot and it's in the lighter weights with the crucial weight cuts. People are taking the fluid out of your brain and that's kind of your shock absorber. We're not playing marbles, we're copping punches.
It's going to happen. So you want to have your body and your health balanced
on tip top because there's life after boxing also you know what I mean I want to see my kids grow up I want to remember things so that's interesting you should say because some old days old school boxers didn't really think about that I mean you've seen I've seen plenty of Australians who have fought on back at a lower weight division and Because they think there might be an advantage because maybe they're a bit taller or they maybe have a bit more reach or they just feel more confident at the lower weight because they know that they're normally a bigger person. They think, well, maybe I'll be able to sort of monster this person a little bit more because this person might be naturally smaller.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What motivates Liam Paro to pursue a world title in boxing?
0:00–18:10
2
How does Liam Paro handle weight cuts and their physical effects?
18:10–29:31
3
What personal adversity has Liam faced that impacts his boxing career?
29:31–39:49
4
How does fitness influence success in boxing at an elite level?
39:49–49:13
5
What insights does Liam Paro share about the mental game in boxing?
49:13–1:00:48
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