Promoter Eddie Hearn wants his fighter Richardson Hitchins to win in style tonight by knocking out Gustavo Lemos in their IBF light welterweight title eliminator on DAZN at the BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
A Change in Style Needed
Hitchins will need to stay in the pocket and go to war with Lemos tonight if he’s going to put on the exciting performance that Hearn wants from him.
The future of this partnership between Hitchins and Hearn could be on shaky ground unless we see a miraculous change in Richardson’s fighting method.
The Matchroom boss believes Hitchins is in the same class as Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez talent-wise. But he wants him to entertain, and he’s not doing that right now.
The fans at ringside for Hitchins’s last fight against Jose Zepeda really let him have it, booing him loudly despite his domination of the veteran. Hearn does not like to see his fighters get booed, and for Hitchins’ sake, he needs to listen before it’s too late.
With his KO rate of 41%, Hitchins (17-0, 7 KOs) is not a fighter who is comfortable with shooting for knockouts, and he would have to change his style of fighting for him to follow his promoter, Hearn’s wish to stop Lemos (29-0, 19 KOs).
Hitchins has power, but he chooses to potshot and move to avoid getting hit. His Mayweather-esque style doesn’t produce knockouts and is not particularly entertaining for the average fan who likes to see action.
The ultra-hardcore fans who used to enjoy Mayweather’s fights would be quite happy with Hitchins’ fighting style, but those people are a dying breed.
Buyer’s Remorse?
That’s Hearn’s problem because he signed Hitchins believing he would become a star, but that won’t happen if he continues to be booed like he was in his last fight by playing it safe against Zepeda.
It’s fair to say that Hearn might be having buyer’s remorse for signing Hitchins, and it won’t be surprising if he chooses not to re-sign him once his contract expires with Matchroom Boxing unless he makes drastic changes.
“Lemos is 29-0. The winner fights the winner of Subriel Matias, which is a great fight. But Richardson is in the same mold as Devin, Shakur, and Teofimo,” said Eddie Hearn to the Best Women Boxing Show YouTube channel about tonight’s headliner fight between Devin Haney and Gustavo Lemos on DAZN in Las Vegas.
“He is in the same team, he has the same ability. He’s just got to scream and shout it. But he’s got to put a performance together. I don’t want him to just school this guy,” Hearn continued about Richardson Hitchins.
Lemos is a dangerous guy for Hitchins to be trying a new, more entertaining style on, but he’s got to shift gears to provide the entertaining style that Hearn wants from him. Hearn is his employer, and he’s made it clear that he wants him to be an action fighter, not a pure boxer that fails to excite the fans.
Must-Win with a Bang
“I want him to stop him, beat him up, and stand on the corner posts and say, ‘Give me Haney. Give me Matias. Give me Teofimo,’ because he believes he can beat them all,” said Hearn.
If Hitchins, 26, does choose to shoot for the knockout tonight, we’ll see if he can take the big punches from Lemos, who is a dangerous puncher with a lot of talent.
The only thing that the 5’5″ Lemos has going against him is a lack of height for the 140-lb division. He’s close to the same height as the 5’4″ Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, which isn’t ideal for the light welterweight division.
“I got in the ring after that fight [Richardson vs. Jose Zepeda], and he said, ‘What did you think?’ ‘I got to be honest with you. I wanted you in the championship rounds to step on him and stop him,’ and he said, ‘But yeah, I didn’t lose a round,'” said Hearn, discussing his conversation with Hitchins after his last fight against Zepeda,
“How can you tell someone to go in there and take chances, but to excite the fans and make sure they know your name, you have to excite them. So, hopefully, he can get the mix right in what will be a tough fight,” Hearn said about Hitchins.
