Matias vs Paro off, Rodriguez a possible replacement

Elvis Rodriguez is 4-0 since losing a majority decision to Kenneth Sims Jr

The bad news: IBF super lightweight champion Subriel Matias will not, in fact, face Liam Paro this coming summer in his Matchroom debut. Jake Donovan reports that Paro’s team “had a change of heart due to standoff on final compensation” after initially agreeing to the matchup.

The good news: the proposed replacement is arguably more appealing, as the historically reliable Julius Julianis claims that Elvis Rodriguez could take Paro’s place.

Rodriguez (15-1-1, 13 KO) hit a speed bump in 2021 when he dropped a majority decision to Kenneth Sims Jr, and though Sims has since won four straight and notably upset Batyr Akhmedov, it was enough for Top Rank to cut bait. “The Dominican Kid” quickly joined forces with PBC and rattled off four straight wins, among them a majority decision over Joseph Adorno and beatdown of Viktor Postol.

It’s yet to be confirmed whether he’s joining Matchroom or sticking with Al Haymon and taking a one-off fight; Rick Glaser claims it’s the former but, well, it’s Rick Glaser.

Either way, this looks like guaranteed fireworks to me. It’s hard to imagine either of these men putting on a stinker, especially not against each other. We’ll let you know when/if we get word.