Subriel Matias is right back where he started in his quest for a homecoming title fight.

The Ring has confirmed that Puerto Rico’s Matias is in advanced talks to next face Australia’s Liam Paro. Once finalized, the attractive matchup will take place in Manati, roughly 90 minutes west of Matias’ hometown of Fajardo, P.R.

ESPN.com boxing insider Mike Coppinger was the first to report renewed talks between the pair of hard hitting 140-pounders.

Matias (20-1, 20 knockouts), No. 3 at 140, will defend his IBF junior welterweight title. He won the belt via fifth-round knockout of unbeaten Jeremias Ponce last Feb. 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He then forced undefeated mandatory challenger Shohjahon Ergashev to quit on his stool after five rounds last November 25 in Las Vegas.

The latter bout was his last under Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), with whom he signed in 2020. He remained with Juan Orengo’s Fresh Productions, who entered a co-promotion with Matchroom Boxing earlier this year. The union was made, in part, to finalize the fight versus Paro at the time.

Paro (24-0, 15 KOs) initially agreed to all terms. The fight seemed to advance once Matias agreed to sign with Matchroom. However, Paro’s team opted out of the matchup over a compensation discrepancy.

Matias and Matchroom spent the next month in talks with nearly every ranked IBF 140-pound contender. The closest to moving on came with expressed interest from Elvis Rodriguez, a Dominican contender who trains in Hollywood under Hall of Fame cornerman Freddie Roach. Rumors were rampant first of a potential bout, then false claims that Matias turned down Rodriguez.

Much closer to the truth was that Paro, who is co-promoted by Matchroom, returned to the table. The unbeaten Aussie was always the first choice for the assignment. As much was proven when his team agreed to re-enter talks with one of the sport’s most frightening punchers.

Matias has knocked out every opponent he has faced as a pro. His lone fight to go the distance was in a Feb. 2020 points loss to Petros Ananyan in Las Vegas. Matias avenged his lone career defeat with a ninth-round stoppage in their Jan. 2021 rematch in Uncasville, Connecticut. The feat was part of his current five-fight win and knockout streak, all inside of nine rounds.

Brisbane’s Paro was in line to challenge then-WBC 140-pound titlist Regis Prograis (29-2, 24 KOs), No. 5 at 140, last June 17 in New Orleans. Those plans fell through when he suffered an Achilles tendon tear, his second straight fight canceled due to injury. Paro previously suffered a facial fracture while in training to face Robbie Davies last March 11 in Liverpool.

An actual fight came last December 9. Paro knocked out Montana Love in the sixth round on the Devin Haney-Regis Prograis DAZN Pay-Per-View undercard from San Francisco. The win was his first since an Oct. 2022 1st round knockout of undefeated countryman Brock Jarvis in South Brisbane.

Matias has not fought on his native island since a November 2019 knockout win over Jonathan Jose Eniz in his Fajardo hometown. The promise of a homecoming was a key part in Fresh Productions agreeing to bring Matchroom into the fold.

Should the fight land in Manati, it will mark the first-ever major title fight held in the coastal city. It is located less than 20 minutes from Barceloneta, the birthtown of the late Hall of Fame legend Sixto Escobar, Puerto Rico’s first world champion.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Follow @JakeNDaBox

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