On December 7, 2024, the 28-year-old IBF super-lightweight world champion, Liam Paro (25-0, 15 KOs), faced a 27-year-old American boxer Richardson Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs), in a title defense fight.
Paro came in to the fight on a 25-fight win streak with a 60% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 5 months and 22 days. Hitchins was on a 18-fight win streak with a 38% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 8 months and 1 day.
Richardson Hitchins defeated Liam Paro via split decision and wins the IBF title — in his first world-title fight. Hitchins improves his record to 19-0, while Paro adds a loss to his record at 25-1.