Richardson Hitchins’ time as a world champion is over after just a single defense.
Hitchins confirmed Monday that he will be vacating his IBF super lightweight championship and moving up to the welterweight division.
Hitchins’ manager Keith Connolly told Ring Magazine:
“It was a tough decision for Hitchins, but he’s outgrown the weight class. He’s been fighting at 140 [pounds] since he was 16 as an amateur.
“Hitchins is an elite fighter, and I truly believe he will be even better and stronger at welterweight and that he will be fighting for a world title at 147 [pounds] in the next 12 months.”
The Brooklyn-born fighter claimed world honors in December 2024 in Puerto Rico after winning a unanimous decision over Liam Paro. Hitchins made his lone title defense by stopping the former unified lightweight champion, George Kambosos, with a body shot in Round 8 this past June.
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The bout against Kambosos marked Hitchins’ final fight with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. He was scheduled to face Oscar Duarte in February on the Ryan Garcia vs. Mario Barrios undercard, but withdrew from the contest on fight day due to illness.
A fight between Hitchins and Duarte could not be rescheduled because the IBF decided to order Hitchins to take on his mandatory, Lindolfo Delgado, next. Purse bids for Hitchins vs. Delgado were scheduled for Tuesday but will now no longer take place.
Fittingly, Hitchins’ decision to vacate his championship allows Duarte to face Delgado for the relinquished IBF championship, however that matchup arrives with its own set of problems — namely, the role of Robert Garcia, who trains both Delgado and Duarte.
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Hitchins recently became the second world champion to sign with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing after Jai Opetaia. Ironically, both champions who signed with Zuffa — the promoter that originally said it would not recognize the sanctioning bodies, but has since seemingly backtracked on that — are no longer world champions.