(Scott Davis, No Limit Boxing) Liam Paro is relishing the prospect of having home advantage when he fights Liam Crocker partly because of the “pretty dodgy” judging he has witnessed in the UK.The Australian will learn in the coming days exactly where and when he will challenge the IBF welterweight champion but he already knows it is likely to be in April in his hometown of Brisbane, because it was his promoters No Limit who outbid Matchroom – the promoters of Crocker – to secure the rights to his latest fight.Paro, who had been set to fight Ireland’s Paddy Donovan in a final eliminator for the same title in January until illness ruled Donovan out, previously travelled to Puerto Rico to dethrone Subriel Matias as the IBF junior-welterweight champion, but is wary of the reputation of British judges as a consequence of, among others, fights like that for the undisputed 140lbs title between Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall in 2022.That Taylor’s then-promoter Bob Arum was so critical of the judging at the conclusion of their rematch two years later and that Bakhram Murtazaliev’s team has reportedly asked the IBF to order a rematch with Josh Kelly after objecting to the scoring of their 154lbs title fight on Saturday in Newcastle, England – so near to Kelly’s hometown – ultimately hasn’t helped. The 29-year-old Crocker is a popular figure in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he lives and remains, and to the extent that that is where Matchroom had planned to stage his latest title defence, but Paro told BoxingScene: “I was confident I could win – I’ve travelled before and done it. But to have it on Australian ground is way better – I want to be a household name here – and touching on the judging over in the UK, it’s pretty dodgy. We’ve seen shows recently where even the commentary doesn’t even know – if even the commentary’s not on the same page, that’s not good. “But with the IBF I was confident all I needed was a fair shake and I’m confident I can get it done, but of course I’m a lot happier. I’m a lot more excited and a lot more motivated to have it here.“It’s international judges – we don’t have Aussie judges here [so Crocker needn’t be concerned]. They’re picked from all around the world, so the IBF are good at picking judges. We’ve both got a fair shake – the best man’s gonna win on the night. Whoever comes up and shows up and executes their game plan to the best is gonna win.“Words can’t…
2026-02-05 10:00:00
Liam Paro happy to be avoiding ‘dodgy’ British judging against Lewis Crocker
