“No, it was not a split decision. Anyone that knows boxing knows that one judge that had Liam winning needs to be fired. From the 4th round and on, I took over the fight easily,” Hitchins posted on X.
Officially, the scorecards were split. Frank Lombardi and Carl Zappia each scored it 116-112 for Hitchins, while Nelson Vazquez had Paro winning 117-111 at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan.
Vazquez’s 117-111 card was wide, but seeing Paro as the winner was not as outrageous as Hitchins makes it sound.
Hitchins fought sporadically for stretches, relying on pot shots before retreating or tying Paro up when he closed the distance. His speed allowed him to dominate portions of the action, but he didn’t maintain a high work rate throughout every round.
Paro kept coming. Even when getting picked apart, the Australian continued pressing forward, throwing punches and forcing Hitchins to respond. He didn’t spend rounds retreating or looking for opportunities to rest in clinches. That persistence gave judges plenty to consider when Hitchins landed the cleaner punches without sustaining his offense.
Paro’s refusal to back away made the fight look far different from a comfortable Hitchins victory. He seemed fearless, willing to absorb sharp counters to maintain his pressure and keep working.
A fan responding to Hitchins also brought up his controversial 2024 decision over Gustavo Lemos, writing that some viewers believed those scorecards were unfair.
That’s a fair point. Hitchins can argue that he deserved a clear victory over Paro, but he can’t erase how Paro fought or change the official result.
It was a split decision, and a judge could reasonably value Paro’s relentless work over the sporadic bursts from Hitchins.
