It may have taken a bit longer than Richardson Hitchins wanted but his career is now moving at the sort of pace he’s always envisioned.
Having signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing in 2022, the former Olympian has entered the ring on two occasions over the span of just four months. During his most recent outing, the 25-year-old made it look incredibly easy against John Bauza, pummeling the young up-and-comer to the tune of a wide unanimous decision victory.
With a shot at a world title slowly creeping up on his radar, Hitchins (16-0, 7 KOs) is hoping to lure one of the super lightweight division’s elite into the ring to solidify his position. Although he has no control over who Hearn will ultimately place in front of him, if it were up to Hitchins, a showdown against Teofimo Lopez would be next up on his calendar.
Of course, after aggregating the IBF, WBA, WBO, and WBC “Franchise” lightweight titles in 2020, Lopez (18-1, 13 KOs) saw his championship reign truncated at the hands of George Kambosos Jr. at the tail end of 2021.
In the immediate aftermath, Lopez, 25, decided that he no longer wanted to make the 135-pound limit and would instead compete going forward as a full-fledged super lightweight. So far, Lopez has reeled off two consecutive victories, including one via split decision against Sandor Martin his last time out.
While it may not be likely, Hitchins has called for Lopez to step up to the plate and accept his audacious challenges. If, by chance, Lopez and Hitchins threw down, prognosticators might be under the assumption that their bout would be a 50/50 affair. Hitchins’, from his point of view, finds the notion that Lopez would challenge him, a laughable one.
“I’ll beat Teofimo easy,” said Hitchins to BoxingScene.com. “I feel like I’ll beat Teofimo easy. I don’t think it would be a tough fight. I don’t believe it’ll be competitive.”
Despite his claims, the words of Hitchins will likely fall on deaf ears. Presently, the former unified lightweight champion turned highly ranked super lightweight contender will take on WBO trinket holder, Josh Taylor, in the month of June.
From the outside looking in, Hitchins admits that Lopez has the full package. However, from a physical standpoint, Hitchins concludes that stylistically, he would be an absolute nightmare for his new budding rival.
“He’s a special talent in terms of quick twitch muscles and speed and power but it’s different with me. I got a lot of advantages over him.”