World championship boxing returns to the Mecca, as Brooklyn native Richardson Hitchins will defend his IBF super-lightweight world title against George Kambosos Jr (22-3, 10 KOs) on Saturday night, June 14th at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, live on DAZN.
Richardson Hitchins made a career-defining move a few years ago, and it paid immediate dividends, as he proceeded to win a world title. His opponent, George Kambosos, is traveling to New York with the mindset of becoming a two-division world champion.
After representing his parents’ home country of Haiti in the 2016 Olympics, Richardson Hitchins turned pro the following year as he signed on with Mayweather Promotions. Five years into his pro career, Hitchins felt a change was needed, as he decided to ink a deal with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing.
Hitchins stayed active, and as a member of his new promotional company, he collected four quick victories. On December 7, 2024, Richardson Hitchins traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to turn one of his dreams into a reality.
In his match against the defending champion Liam Paro, Hitchins took over during the midpoint of the fight. At the conclusion of the 12-round contest, one judge scored the bout in favor of Paro, but that scorecard was overruled by the other two judges, who both scored the bout 116-112 in favor of Hitchins.
With the split-decision victory, Richardson Hitchins became the new IBF super-lightweight world champion. Now on his home soil, Hitchins is set to make his first world title defense against a man who is accustomed to playing the spoiler role.
Back in November 2021, George Kambosos Jr formerly introduced himself to the mainstream when he upset Teofimo Lopez via split-decision and won the unified lightweight world title. The Sydney, Australia native would proceed to defend his title at home and suffer back-to-back losses to Devin Haney.
Kambosos would land another fight against a well-known opponent, but unfortunately for him, he was stopped by Vasiliy Lomachenko in the 11th round. Kambosos bounced back by scoring a unanimous decision victory over fellow Aussie boxer Jake Wyllie.
Now the 31-year-old George Kambosos Jr is ready for his opportunity to become a two-weight world champion. This fight against Hitchins will also give Kambosos a chance to prove that he’s not a one-hit wonder.
Richardson Hitchins is a boxing technician who has an elite jab, and he utilizes it to set up his offense. Hitchins has superior accuracy, good footwork, he’s defensively responsible, and he’s capable of fighting from the outside or inside of the pocket.
The challenger, George Kambosos, is shaky on defense, but he has a solid jab, quick hands, and a good variation of combinations. Kambosos is capable of pressing forward and fighting off the lead foot, but he’s most effective when he’s in counter-punching mode.
During a recent press conference, Hitchins and Kambosos were supposed to have a face-off, but the press conference got out of control, and it ended abruptly. Both boxers had heated verbal exchanges, and tempers escalated when Hitchins tried to lure Kambosos into a bet when he pulled out $50,000 in cash.
The 27-year-old Richardson Hitchins is a 7-1 favorite, but he’s fighting a man who is very comfortable in the underdog role. Kambosos has a record of (2-0) at MSG, and when he battles Hitchins on Saturday night, he’s confident that he’ll get win number three.
On Saturday night June 14th, Richardson Hitchins plans on getting a routine victory and then moving on to a possible unification bout, while the challenger George Kambosos wants to play the role of spoiler and take the IBF super-lightweight world title home to Australia.
