Eight years after making his professional debut, Australian sensation Liam Paro is going to enter his first title defense against Richardson Hitchins on December 7, at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan. Both fighters would like to walk out of the ring as victor and continue their undefeated streak.

For Paro, it is not just a simple title defense. Everyone has underestimated him since the start of his career and a win here can finally propel him into the stardom that he deserves. However, things started on the wrong foot, as on Saturday, Hitchins and Paro’s camp got into a dispute over gloves being worn during the fight.

Liam Paro’s gloves in question

The incident happened on Saturday during the rules meeting, as Richardson Hitchins’ team had a problem with the gloves used by Liam Paro. For this fight, Liam Paro will use special gloves by ‘Fly,’ a reputable and famous UK brand. Both the fighters showed each other their gloves. While the Aussie boxer was fine with what Hitchins chose, the latter had his doubts.

The Brooklyn native team started examining the glove thoroughly and asked the official to weigh the gloves. The match officials confirmed that the gloves are 8 ounces, as per the rule. But Hitchins’ camp, still not satisfied, kept arguing, making the situation even worse.

Amidst the heated argument, the challenger came forward and insisted that the committee should weigh in both gloves. “There’s no way you’re not going to tell me. These are super light,” shouted Hitchins, demanding the gloves to be weighed. He felt that the gloves were too light and explained, “As long as they(both gloves) the same weight, we good.”

The main reason for concern for the American undefeated star was that, “I just never seen that in America,” while referring to the ‘Fly’ brand. He further raised a question to the officials and asked, “If we weigh the gloves and they’re not the same weight you going to fight that or we going to reason. Even if we find a different gloves as long as the gloves are the same weight. Cuz there’s a possible my gloves might be lower it might be bigger his gloves,” once again insisting that he does not trust the brand.

Amidst the chaos, Liam Paro was standing in one corner silently while Hitchins was being all animated. Later, Matchroom Boxing talked with the head coaches of both fighters to get a better context of the situation.

Huge distress in Hitchins’ camp

Liam Paro’s head coach Alfie Di Carlo explained the situation and told Matchroom Boxing, “They have some problem with the Fly gloves. They are just concerned that they feel a bit lighter or something.” He then acknowledged Hitchins’ lack of knowledge regarding the brand and remarked that, “We’re talking about a very very reputable brand. They say they’ve never heard of him but a lot of the best fighters in the world have worn fly. So, I don’t care they can do whatever they want that’s the gloves we’re going to be wearing. Yeah, that’s just
life. every glove’s different,” while being adamant about using the Fly gloves.

Di Carlo is not wrong as Fly has established themselves as one of the most prominent glove brands in the past decade. It is quite famous in the UK and boxers such as Joe Cordina, Daniel Dubois, Fabio Wardley, Leigh Wood, Joe Joyce, Billy Joe Saunders, Anthony Joshua, and many more have worn the gloves. So, there is no doubt regarding the quality and integrity of the brand.

However, Richardson Hitchins’s head coach, Lenny Wilson, still not satisfied with the decision. In a frustrating tone, he lamented, “Paro gloves are called Fly. I have never heard of that manufacturer before, number 1.” He further commented on the weight issue of the gloves and explained that, “The fist part of it is just too soft. It’s just too-too soft and so we just gotta determine whether or not its the actual weight size of the gloves that he’s supposed to be fighting. But I just felt that it was too soft knuckle part, it doesn’t feel manufactured like sturdy,” while questioning the quality of the gloves.

As the controversy has embroiled in just a few hours before the fight, we will be getting a decision soon. Furthermore, as the Puerto Rico Boxing Commission has already given the green light to Liam Paro’s gloves, there should not be any further issues.

What are your views on Liam Paro’s gloves controversy? Do you think Richardson Hitchins’ concerns are valid? Let us know your thoughts down below.