Hitchins Set for January 31 as Ortiz Talk Circulates

Richardson Hitchins has a title defense penciled in for January 31. The bout is set for Madison Square Garden and will be part of the Teofimo Lopez–Shakur Stevenson card. The date is set. The opponent isn’t.

Hitchins is listed on updated schedules, including Dan Rafael’s, as being on the card. Beyond that, nothing has been confirmed. No opponent. No co-feature announcement. With that gap, Jamaine Ortiz keeps coming up.

Ortiz fought Teofimo Lopez in February 2024 and gave him real problems. He was quicker. He threw combinations. Teofimo never fully settled in. A lot of fans thought Ortiz did enough to win, but the decision went the other way. That fight still matters.

Since then, Ortiz has fought three times and won all three. None were big fights. None moved him closer to a title. For a guy who nearly beat a top champion, the silence has been loud. That isn’t because Ortiz lacks ability. It’s because he’s dangerous.

Ortiz is a major talent who hasn’t been protected by matchmaking. No soft fights. No slow build. He stepped up, performed, and didn’t get rewarded. Fighters like that don’t get rushed into big opportunities. They get avoided.

If Ortiz ends up fighting Hitchins, it would be a serious jump in difficulty. Hitchins’ last fight was George Kambosos Jr., a pressure fighter who stays in front of you. Before that, the best win on his record is usually listed as Liam Paro, another fighter who doesn’t move much and lets exchanges develop. Ortiz doesn’t fight that way.

He moves more. He’s faster. He throws in combination and doesn’t wait for single shots. He makes opponents reset and rethink. Style-wise, he’s closer to Shakur Stevenson than anyone Hitchins has faced, but with more volume and less caution. That’s not an easy matchup for a champion who likes control.

Hitchins’ manager, Keith Connolly, said this week that Hitchins is expected to appear high on the card, but he didn’t name an opponent. Eddie Hearn hasn’t commented publicly either. So for now, it’s all unresolved.

What’s confirmed is the date and the platform. Everything else is still taking shape.

If the opponent turns out to be Jamaine Ortiz, it won’t be because the fight is safe or convenient. It’ll be because someone finally agreed to face a fighter who never got the red-carpet treatment and doesn’t need it.