Richardson Hitchins is being roasted by fans today on social media after calling himself the “best fighter in the sport.”
Fans reminded IBF light welterweight champion Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) that he’s avoiding fights and won’t face his four-time conqueror, WBA champion Gary Antuanne Russell. He’s been called out by Russell, but won’t face him.
“Best fighter in the sport of boxing. Can’t wait for my moment to prove it,” said Richardson Hitchins on X.
Hitchins wants the big names: Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, and Ryan Garcia. He can’t get any of them because he’s not faced the top dogs at 140, like Antuanne Russell, Subriel Matias, and Ernesto Mercado, to build his name up.
Hitchins recently left Matchroom after they set him up for an easy title defense against George Kambosos Jr. on June 14th. Promoter Eddie Hearn had hoped to re-sign Richardson to a new contract. But Hitchins surprised by announcing his free agency immediately after his fight against Kambosos. Hearn was not happy.
Given that the Brooklyn, New York native Hitchins doesn’t want to fight Antuanne Russell or Matias, he’s trapped in a position where he doesn’t have the name recognition to get the fights he wants. But he’s not taking the risky fights that would help him make a name for himself. He’s further hurt his cause by leaving Matchroom and becoming a free agent.
It worked for Edgar Berlanga to leave Matchroom after they delivered him a lucrative fight against Canelo Alvarez. He was given a headliner fight against Hamzah Sheeraz on Turki Alalshikh’s card earlier this year on July 12th in Queens, New York. Turki hasn’t blessed Hitchins in the same way, and he’s been sitting inactive since the Kambosos fight.
If Hitchins took the fight against Russell, he’d get a lot of attention from fans, and it would be the perfect match to increase his popularity. The downside is that Russell could beat him for a fifth time. Fighting him or Matias is the best way for Hitchins to come up.