Matchroom Boxing finally claimed victory in a purse bid hearing.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the UK-based promotional outfit secured the rights to the Liam Paro-Arnold Barboza WBO junior welterweight title eliminator. Matchroom submitted $303,000, outpacing Top Rank ($271,000) by more than $30,000 during Thursday’s purse bid hearing conducted via Zoom from WBO headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
An ordered title eliminator between unbeaten contenders is now available to the highest bidder.
“Delighted to confirm we have won the purse bid for Liam Paro vs Arnold Barboza Jr, Final Eliminator for the WBO World Super Lightweight Title to become mandatory challenger to the winner of #TaylorLopez,” Matchroom declared via social media following the session. “Date and venue to follow shortly.”
The proposed dates for the bout are June 17 in Las Vegas and July 15 in Detroit, Michigan. The latter date would presumably include the return of undisputed junior lightweight queen Alycia Baumgardner.
Matchroom participated in the bid on behalf of Paro, while Top Rank sought to secure rights as Barboza’s promoter. The winner will become the mandatory challenger to the WBO 140-pound crown held by Scotland’s Josh Taylor (19-0, 13KOs), who next defends versus former unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez (18-1, 12KOs) on June 10 in New York City.
The original terms of the purse bid called for a 50-50 split, to be adjusted by ten percent if the fight took place in the home country of either boxer. However, Matchroom Boxing’s choice as the lead promoter to stage the fight in the U.S. should not impact Barboza’s entitled share.
Barboza hails from the greater Los Angeles area, while Paro fights out of Brisbane, Australia but regularly trains in Las Vegas.
Paro (23-0, 14KOs) previously commanded the top spot in the WBO 140-pound rankings but was never formally identified as the mandatory challenger. The 26-year-old Brisbane southpaw advanced to the top after a ten-round win over Yomar Alamo in their December 2021 battle of unbeaten young contenders.
His lone bout of 2022 was in an all-Oz clash with undefeated Brock Jarvis, which launched Matchroom’s DAZN debut in the Australian market. Paro made an emphatic statement in a sensational first-round knockout of his countryman. Paro entered 2023 with the intention of eventually challenging for a major title. However, he was forced to withdraw from a March 11 clash with England’s Robbie Davies Jr. after suffering a facial fracture during training camp.
Barboza (28-0, 10KOs) is coming off ten-round points win over former two-division titlist Jose Pedraza on February 3 in Glendale, Arizona. The fight was his first following a July 15 victory over then-unbeaten Danielito Zorrilla. His time spent in between—and even prior to the Zorrilla fight—was spent calling out any and every relevant 140-pound titlist and contender, only for everyone to largely ignore his challenge.
Those days are over for Barboza, who now has a relevant fight ahead of him. It will just come on another promoter’s dime.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox