​What to KnowWBO World Welterweight champion Devin Haney has finally found an opponent in IBF World Welterweight champion Liam Paro.Haney and Paro will fight for the unified titles just before Christmas on December 19 at the Chase Center in San Francisco.After failed negotiations with several other opponents, Paro stepped up to face the pound-for-pound ranked Haney.We get it. Liam Paro isn’t Ryan Garcia, Shakur Stevenson, or Keyshawn Davis.But when matchup after matchup for three-division world champion and top pound-for-pound welterweight Devin Haney fell through this year, credit the IBF World Welterweight champion Liam Paro of Australia for taking the unification fight with the WBO World Welterweight champion on his home turf in San Francisco just before the Christmas holiday.Without Paro, Haney would go a full year without a fight. Sneer at the matchup if you like. We won’t, because boxing is better with Devin Haney in the ring. Without Paro as a dance partner, fans get no fight at all.Whether you watch or not, there’s no point whining about the matchups that might have been.Haney vs Paro: Belts MatterIt’s also a fact that this is a title unification fight. Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank Boxing which is the co-promoter for the card with Devin Haney Promotions, made pointed comments about the importance of titles at a time when their value is questioned.“This is what we’re talking about: an era, a time when people want the titles. People that tell you that titles don’t mean shit is bullshit! They don’t know the business.“We just had O’Shaquie (Foster) and (Emanuel) Navarrete. Now we’re going to have this. We have Josh Kelly and Boots Ennis talking. You have Ryan (Garcia) and Teo (Lopez) talking.“People know the titles mean something, and when you can put it all together and be partners in doing that, it makes the sport that much better.” Say it louder for the people in the back, Todd.Bill Haney, Devin Haney, Liam Paro and George Rose discussed the matchup on December 19. Will former sparring experience make a difference? Photo: Top Rank BoxingHaney and Paro met face-to-face for the first time in many years on Tuesday in San Francisco at the official kickoff press conference.Father and trainer Bill Haney talked about the long road getting to this fight, pushing back on any criticism. He laid the blame at the feet of Jay Prince, the manager who represents both Shakur Stevenson and Keyshawn Davis.“Of course, the people wanted other things, and we dealt with that, but here we are, and we do not take Paro lightly,” said Haney.“They didn’t get it across the line. They’re not in business. Last I heard, they’re shopping around, and here we’re here with a fight. We need to talk about Liam Paro, who’s hungry, a champion, and talk about Devin Haney and unification. And the other guys don’t deserve anything to be talked about right now.”With that, the fighters had their say about their upcoming fight.Longti