Richardson Hitchins says Teofimo Lopez is “liable to lose” in his fight against Arnold Barboza Jr. on May 2nd. IBF light welterweight champion Hitchins states that Barboza Jr. (32-0, 11 KOs) is a “solid guy”, and could dethrone WBO 140-lb champion Lopez if he’s not at his best.
Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs) can’t afford to lose this match to Barboza Jr. because he has big plans to fight the winner of the unification fight between IBF welterweight champion Jaron Ennis and WBA champ Eimantas Stanionis. He also has hopes to fight the Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney 2 rematch winner in 2026.
Brooklyn Rivalry
The New Yorker Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) is salty about Teofimo taking a fight the Southern California native Barboza Jr. when he could be fighting him. Both of them are born in Brooklyn, and it would make sense for that match to happen. However, Barboza is Lopez’s WBO-ordered mandatory challenger, and he’s been waiting in line for three years to get this opportunity.
“I think they really didn’t push the fight. It don’t matter. They don’t got to try and push it right now. It’s going to be an even bigger fight,” said Richardson Hitchins to Sean Zittel’s YouTube channel, talking about Teofimo Lopez.
“Hopefully, he do what he got to do and I’m going to keep doing what I do and I feel the fight is going to build up. I want it here in New York. Hopefully, Turki knows where the smart money is at. I feel like that’s a big fight for the city of New York.”
If Teofimo moves up to welterweight on a permanent basis this year, the only way Hitchins will get a fight against him is if he is willing to follow him to 147. He’ll sacrifice speed going up, but the money may be worth it if he can get the fight.
What Hitchins needs to do is build up his popularity by facing the best possible fighters at 140. Fighting Gary Antuanne Russell, George Kambosos Jr, Alberto Puello, Sandor Martin, Isaac Cruz, Subrial Matias are logical moves.
“I’m going to talk my s*** and Teo is going to talk his s***. So, it’s going to be big. We never asked for a dollar. We’re waiting for them to send an offer, and they never sent an offer. So, I’m going to leave it there,” said Hitchins.
“Liable to Lose”
“I think he’s liable to lose,” said Richardson about Teofimo’s title defense against Arnold Barboza Jr. on May 2nd. “I don’t think he’s [Barboza] on my level. If you’re not on your game, he’s a spoiler. I think Barboza is a solid guy.
“How are you going to make a fight with Barboza in New York, and he’s not from New York. You’ve got a s***-talking, skillful, Brooklyn champion ready to make the fight. Hopefully, the fight is being marinated for a bigger night,” said Hitchins about being confused for why Teofimo is fighting the California native Barboza Jr. rather than him.
