With Arnold Barboza Jr. having withdrawn himself out of the mandate to fight Liam Paro in a Final Eliminator, a new opponent has quickly materialized for Paro to face; Jose Ramirez, the former unified champion of the Super Lightweight division between 2019 and 2021.
With American contender Arnold Barboza Jr. (28-0, 10 KO’s) and Australian prospect Liam Paro (23-0, 14 KO’s) occupying the #2 and #3 spot on the WBO’s Super Lightweight rankings, Jose Ramirez (28-1, 18 KO’s) was the next best contender in line for Paro to face given his ranking position at #4. A deadline was set starting May 3rd until May 8th for the two teams to come to an agreement, and will go to purse bids at a later date in the month if these negotiations fail.
The two promotions involved in these negotiations are Top Rank, who promote Jose Ramirez, and Matchroom to whom Liam Paro is signed to. Arnold Barboza Jr. is also signed to Top Rank’s roster of fighters but seems to be angling to fight Regis Prograis (28-1, 24 KO’s) according to his manager, Rick Marrigan.
If a deal is reached ― in either the initial negotiations or the purse bids that may commence, the winner between Jose Ramirez and Liam Paro will be able to face the winner of the Taylor-Lopez bout that is set to commence in June. The Final Eliminator bout will, as the name illustrates, eliminate the final competitor and determine the next mandatory opponent for whoever will be holding the WBO title in the near future.
A potential match-up between Jose Ramirez and Liam Paro will pit two vastly different type of opponents together, with Jose Ramirez having experienced the highs and lows that come with being at the top level, while Paro is only just receiving his first opportunity to potentially fight for a world title.
Interestingly, Jose Ramirez had the opportunity to fight WBC champion Regis Prograis after winning the WBC Final Eliminator bout against Richard Commey (30-5-1, 27 KO’s), but the American has instead chosen to take the route towards the WBO.
A win in this potential bout over Liam Paro also gives Jose Ramirez the opportunity to face Josh Taylor (19-0, 13 KO’s) ― if he makes it past Teofimo Lopez (18-1, 13 KO’s) ― again after they first met in May of 2021 to unify all titles. Jose Ramirez suffered his first loss in that match against Taylor, and has since then showed good form by defeating two solid 140 lbs contenders in a row in Jose Pedraza and Richard Commey.
Liam Paro’s own resume pales in comparison to Ramirez and is devoid of noteworthy contenders or former world champions. Paro counts his best win against fellow Australian contender Brock Jarvis, but has noticeably been in unstoppable form with his undefeated streak and is perhaps long overdue for a step-up in competition if he were to face Ramirez.
