Richardson Hitchin denies that he ever asked for $2.5 million for a fight against Teofimo Lopez for May 2nd. IBF light welterweight champion Hitchins says he was never given an offer to fight against WBO champ Teofimo.
Hitchins’ Denial
He doesn’t know where he’s coming from, claiming that he chose Arnold Barboza Jr. for the May 2nd card at Times Square in New York City because Turki Alalshikh didn’t want to pay him $2.5 million. That’s an excuse that Teofimo cooked up. Hitchins feels that Lopez never wanted to fight him in the first place, and he chose to take what he feels is the easier patch against his WBO mandatory Barboza Jr. (32-0, 11 KOs) for the Times Square card.
Hitchins would still like to fight Teo after his defense against Barboza, but that doesn’t look likely. He may fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis next. Richardson isn’t popular enough yet for him to create a lot of interest for a fight on one of Turki’s big cards.
“Teo is online, saying that Turki doesn’t feel that I was worth the money I was looking for. I never got an offer. We never asked. We never even put an offer on the table,” said Richardson Hitchins to Fighthype, reacting to Teofimo Lopez saying that he chose Arnold Barboza Jr. because Hitchins wanted $2.5 million and Turki Alalshikh didn’t feel he was worth that.”
The Runaround
It’s classic that Hitchins got the run around by Lopez. He wouldn’t be the first one that got that treatment, but that’s what he gets for focusing on a fight against him. When Teofimo wants someone, they know it because he’s the one pushing. In Hitchin’s case, it’s one way interest. He wants the fight, but Teofimo is indifferent.
“I think Barboza is getting a little over a million to fight Teofimo. Richardson Hitchins is a world champion. My name is way bigger than Barboza. The storyline between me and Teo would have been great fight to make it happen in New York City.
“I think if Turki was able to put the right money on the table, the fight would have been done. Teo, I don’t think he really wanted to fight. He did a lot of talking, but I don’t think he wanted to press the issue. If he really wanted to, we could have come to an agreement.
“He says he’s not in it for the money. He’s in it for the big fights. He wants it for the big fights. There’s no other big fights in the 140-lb division other than Richardson Hitchins. It would have been two champions in a unification match, but he took the other road. Hopefully, we can revisit the conversation. I’m looking to go out in June in New York in a spectacular performance to prove I’m one of the best in the world.
“Hopefully, these guys put the money up and we can make sure to put the biggest and best fights in boxing. George Kambosos is an option. We got a few other names, they said,” said Hitchins. “George Kambosos is a name that would sense because he’s with Eddie [Hearn] right now.”
