Liam Paro tells Devin Haney that he'll be Boxing's Next Superstar

Australia's Liam Paro has a world title belt but he's acutely aware that he's not regarded as equal to Devin Haney. Most pundits think Liam is merely a stepping stone on Haney's way to a rematch with Ryan Garcia.

But Paro says he's going to rain on Devin's parade in his own backyard in the San Francisco Chase Centre. 

Haney says he's the best fighter in the world and will show that he's levels above Paro when they meet next month. There was a little needle on display between the two teams. Devin's father accused the Australian of bad-mouthing his son on social media, only to be respectfully quiet in person. 

He also said that Devin had got the upper hand in the dozens of rounds of sparring they'd done together. Paro paid no heed to that. He said sparring has no bearing on how the fight will turn out.

Haney Sr admitted that they hadn't studied much fight footage of Liam. This led Paro's team to offer to send Team Haney some videos. The Haneys realised this was Australian humour and laughed accordingly.

Both boxers have lost once in their careers but Haney's defeat, to Ryan Garcia, was struck from his record after the American failed a drugs test. Paro poked fun at Haney for filing a lawsuit to restore his undefeated record. 

Paro's perfect record was ended by American, Richardson Hitchins in a split decision in 2024. The Australian said he learnt a lot from that defeat and will be sure to come in to the Haney fight with "all guns blazing." 

Liam was keen to point out that he doesn't avoid anyone. He said six of his last eight opponents were undefeated. Haney too said he only wants the biggest challenges available.

Unification fights are quite rare and should always be applauded. It's depressingly common for a champion to avoid his rival belt holders and look to make relatively safe defences. Deontay Wilder was a perfect example of this behaviour.

This unification fight came about following the collapse of talks between Shakur Stevenson and Daney. Shakur wanted to bring Haney down to a lower "catchweight" and impose a rehydration clause. Now Devin has moved on, and Shakur is left with nothing lined up.

Haney may well be on another level in terms of his speed and reflexes but Paro does have one advantage. When they enter the ring next month, Devin won't have fought for over a year. Could ring rust be a factor?