Richardson Hitchins beat the brakes off George Kambosos Jr. on Saturday night at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden. In the process, the 27-year-old Hitchins successfully defended his IBF junior welterweight title handing Kambosos another crushing loss against the top fighters in the weight region.
This fight was never really close as Hitchins prevailed via eighth-round TKO punctuated a spectacular display of boxing.
“This was an almost perfect performance by Richardson Hitchins in this title defense against George Kambosos Jr,” said Dennis Allen of CompuBox. “Hitchins landed 205 of 398, 52% in total punches, 118 of 233, 51% in jabs and 87 of 165, 53% in power punches. He put Kambosos down with a body shot in the final round and the referee waved it off at the 2:33 mark.”
The win pushed Hitchins’ record to a perfect with 20-0 and 8 KOs. Hitchins was superior in his mastery of distance, he had faster hands and with the TKO, Hitchins showed the ability to stop an opponent which has been one of the biggest questions around his career.
Kambosos has now been stopped in two of his last three fights and no longer appears to be the kind of fighter capable of competing with the upper-echelon fighters at 135 or 140 pounds. It’s tough to imagine him getting a big fight the next time out. He’s only 32 years old, but he’s clearly seen better days in his career.
As for Hitchins, he has long wanted to face and defeat Kambosos before setting up a unification fight with WBO champion Teofimo Lopez. Hitchins doubled down on that concept with Lopez joining him in the ring following the stoppage win.
“A few years ago, I was watching Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos Jr. go to war, and I was sitting on those stairs and I said when I get my opportunity, I’m going to make the best of it,” Hitchins said after the fight. “With the help of Eddie Hearn and Keith Connelly, they changed my life in two years. In terms of the fight itself, I’ve been telling the boxing world that I’m the truth. If you don’t know Richardson Hitchins, now you know. I’ve been telling the boxing world I’ve been coming. They should have listened and now I’m here.”
“George is a warrior but that’s what you need if your Richardson, come out, step on the gas and dominate,” said Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn. Sometimes he would let that just coast for 12 rounds but he came out and dominated with a great performance. That is the statement he needed to mix with these guys. Great atmosphere, great performance from a great young American champion. Time for him to get the big fights.”
A fight with Lopez could theoretically happen as soon as October. Lopez is coming off a unanimous decision win over Arnold Barboza last month, so the two men are on the same schedule. It’s unclear who would promote the fight as Lopez’s current alliances are unclear on that front.
In any case, unification fights are good for the sport, so I hope to see it come to fruition.
