Eddie Hearn sounded furious last Saturday, reacting to his Matchroom fighter, IBF light welterweight champion Richardson Hitchins, announcing inside the ring that he was a free agent after his victory over George Kambosos at Madison Square Garden in New York.
(Credit: Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom)
Hearn says he’d invested a lot of money in developing Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs), maneuvering him to a world title and the Kambosos fight. He’d lost money in Hitchins’ fight. He felt that it was a stab in the back, a sign of disloyalty that Richardson, 27, chose to announce to the world last Saturday that he’s a free agent.
Hearn’s Lost Hitchins Investment
What Hitchins is obviously counting on is someone with a lot of money, like Turki Alalshikh, to scoop him up and pay him millions, like we’re seeing with former Matchroom fighter, Edgar Berlanga.
Richardson: No Power, Boring Style
Hitchins hasn’t shown the kind of talent to beat the top fighters at 140. He can beat some of them, but he’d likely lose to Gary Antuanne Russell, Alberto Puello, and Teofimo Lopez, because he has no power. Hitchins’ offense is limited to a jab and a right..
That style won’t work against Russell, Lopez, or even Subriel Matias. That might explain why Hitchins has shown no interest in fighting Matias or Russell. Those guys would beat him. The newcomer to the division, Keyshawn Davis, would be a nightmare for Hitchins as well, and so would prospect Ernesto Mercardo.
Hitchins is like another Devin Haney type. He has no power and has to be matched carefully, otherwise he’ll lose. It’s unclear why Hearn wasted his money on him in the first place, because he’s not talented enough to beat the killers in the division with his outdated Mayweather-esque game.
“There’s no loyalty in boxing. I remember when I met Richardson Hitchins. The door of his car was falling off. I’ve spent a lot of money, investing in a young man that I really respect,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV, reacting to Richardson Hitchins announcing he’s a free agent inside the ring last Saturday night after his win over George Kambosos Jr.
I don’t know why Hearn is so upset about Hitchins announcing his free agency. He should say, ‘Good riddance. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Now, I can focus my attention on fan-friendly fighters.’
The real question is, why did Hearn invest money in Hitchins when his fighting style is boring, and not one that resonates with fans? That was a mistake. Hearn has fighters that have much more fan-friendly styles than Hitchins, whom he should be building up. With Hitchins, he has to be protected because if he’s put in with the good 140-pounders, like Gary Antuanne Russell, Ernesto Mercado, Keyshawn Davis, and Subriel Matias, he’d likely lose.
Even Arnold Barboza Jr. and Jake Catterall would be 50-50 fights for Hitchins. He would struggle badly against those guys. The only thing good about Hitchins is the trash talk he does outside of the ring during interviews. He’s not a social media guy like Shakur Stevenson, who posts daily on X and has a large following. Hitchins’ social media account has very few followers.
Ticket Sales: Hitchins’ Problem
“I’ve boxed him at Madison Square Garden [against John Bauza]. I headlined him in Orlando [against Jose Zepeda], where we really didn’t sell a lot of tickets, and we lost a lot of money,” said Hearn about Hitchins. “I kept with it. I headlined him in Las Vegas [against Gustavo Lemos], where again, we didn’t sell many tickets and we lost money.”
Mayweather Style Fails Hitchins
Hearn should have woken up and smelled the coffee when Hitchins’ fights against Bauza, Zepeda, and Lemos failed to sell tickets. Moreover, Richardson was booed by fans in those fights for his dull, safety-first fighting style. At that point, Hearn should have gotten a clue that the U.S. on the West Coast dislikes his hit-and-not-get-hit retro Mayweather style, which doesn’t work in this era.
“As far as Richie [Hitchins] is concerned, Keith Connolly said, ‘Make sure you’re a free agent.’ But that’s all right because you know what you’re dealing with.’ Do I want to be in the Richardson Hitchins business if it’s going to be like that?” said Hearn.
Hitchins has already shown his hand, announcing to the fan that he’s a free agent and no longer with Matchroom. Why would Hearn want to continue working with him after he did that? I wouldn’t. Let him go. When he Hitchins starts losing and discovers the money that he thought he’d be getting with other promoters isn’t there, he’ll come crawling back. Hitchin’s two problems are these:
- Boring fighting style: He employs the Mayweather pot-shot style, which doesn’t work in this era to entertain fans. His fight with the over-the-hill Kambosos was boring to watch.
- No power
- Must be protected: Hitchins’ promoters have to avoid putting him in against the killers at 140 or 147, because he’ll lose. He’s not talented enough to beat Russell, Mercado, Keyshawn, Brian Norman Jr., or Shakhram Giyasov. Anyone can see that.
“Edgar Berlanga, who also [is with Keith Connolly, won the lottery, but Turki came along and [signed him],” said Hearn about Berlanga, a fighter who recently chose NOT to re-up with Matchroom despite being maneuvered into a big payday against Canelo Alvarez.
“If it suits me,” said Hearn when asked if he would be willing to work with Hitchins again.
It appears that Hitchins believes that Turki Alalshikh will scoop him up like he did with Edgar Berlanga after he left Matchroom. According to reports, Turki won’t work with Hitchins unless he’s with Matchroom. That leaves Hitchins no choice but to swallow his pride and return to Hearn, hoping he’ll still welcome him.
