Light welterweight contender Richardson Hitchins will return to the ring in October in New York City.
The opponent for #1 IBF, #3 WBO, and #5 WBC-ranked Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs) remains to be seen. He must fight someone popular to headline because he’s not considered main-event material.
One obvious option for Hitchins to fight would be former IBF 140-lb champion Subriel Matias, who is with the same promotional company at Matchroom.
The advantage of that fight being made is Matias is Puerto Rican and would bring in a sizable crowd in New York City. Hitchins could ride Matias’s coattails to take advantage of the crowd he brings in because he can’t do it as the main attraction without a popular fighter like him. He doesn’t have the style to attract fans.
Hearn needs to bring Matias back against a notable fighter after he was dethroned by Liam Paro last June in a twelve-round decision defeat. Hitchins would be a tough one for Matias style-wise because he’s got a similar style as Paro, involving a lot of holding, potshots, and stepping back.
Hitchins is even more defensive than Paro, so it would be a tough one for Matias if he were to agree to take this fight.
Whoever Hitchins fights, he needs to be more entertained and take chances because his Shakur Stevenson style is very boring. In his last fight against Gustavo Lemos in Las Vegas last April, he was booed in an IBF 140-lb title eliminator. It’s unclear if the New York City fans would be forgiving of Hitchins if he fights in that location because they hated him in Las Vegas.
Although Hitchins won the fight, it was close, and he played it safe, moving around on the outside, dashing away whenever attacked. It was pure Shakur-esque. Fans in Las Vegas expect to be entertained, and they don’t go for the dull safety-first style that Hitchins and Shakur use.
Hitchins’ recent fights against Gustavo Lemos and Jose Zepeda have been dull, leaving some fans to wonder if he’s got the style to become a popular fighter.
Eddie Hearn promotes him, but he doesn’t talk about him much anymore, leaving this writer to wonder if he’s a lame duck and won’t be re-signed when his contract with Matchroom expires.
If Hearn signs Shakur Stevenson, he would be a good opponent for Hitchins because they have identical fighting styles. However, it might be a waste of time for Hearn to sign Shakur if he’s not planning to keep Hitchins when his contract is up because he would have the same guy style-wise.
