IBF junior welterweight titleholder Sabriel Matias plans to put his own spin on one of boxing's most famous “No Mas” moments. With a bout coming up in his hometown, Matias is confident “No Mas Tias” will emerge on Saturday night in his native Puerto Rico.
Matias (20-1, 20 KOs) will face Liam Palo (24-0, 15 KOs) on Saturday at Coliseo Juan Alvin Cruz Abreu in Manati, Puerto Rico, and Matias expects his opponent to suffer the same fate – an RTD – for the sixth straight time.
Referencing the immortal moment when Roberto Duran turned away from him in his second bout with Sugar Ray Leonard and uttered those two famous words, “It's over,” Mathias suggested he plans to retire Palo before the final gong sounds.
“Everyone is expecting a 'No Mastias' at this fight,” Matias said. “We're going to show the world that the real heat is in Puerto Rico.”
Matthias praised Paro, but at the same time, he recalled something Paro said that Matthias didn't like and issued an ominous warning.
“Great fighter, but at one point he said the only good thing about me is I'm a loser,” Mathias said. “He's going to have to prove it with facts.”
The 32-year-old Mathias last fought in November, stopping Shozhakhon Ergashev in six rounds. Since then, he has signed with Matchroom Boxing, which helped make this homecoming bout possible. Saturday's bout will mark Mathias' debut with the organization.
The 28-year-old Paro last fought in December, knocking out Montana Love in six rounds. This will be Paro's first world title fight.
“We're looking forward to Nomastias winning its sixth consecutive championship,” Mathias said.
Matias isn't the first fighter to have had a fighting persona imagined based on Duran's fateful phrase; that honor belongs to three-division champion and current lightweight titleholder Vasiliy Lomachenko, aka “NoMasChenko.” And while the moniker suits Matias well as he fights in his home country for the first time since 2019, it's not hard to imagine he'd be content with any kind of victory on Saturday.
“It's a dream come true to fight in Puerto Rico as a world champion,” he said. “It's like waking up and being in the room with my wife and daughters. This is special and I'm happy with God for everything, that's the most important thing, and we want to continue to show that we deserve to be at this level.”
