Unbeaten Brooklyn boxer Hitchins has no issues with challenging IBF champion – but has to see off Lemos in Las Vegas eliminator
Richardson Hitchins says he would jump at the chance to meet IBF king Subriel Matias as he prepares to hit the scales ahead of his final eliminator with Gustavo Lemos for the IBF World super lightweight title at BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Saturday April 6, live worldwide on DAZN.
Hitchins (17-0 7 KOs) can take a giant step towards landing a World title shot with victory over Lemos (29-0 19 KOs) in Sin City, and the Brooklyn ace is determined to show fans and rivals alike that he is here to stay as an elite-level headliner.
The 26 year old meets the unbeaten Argentine for the honour of being next in line to meet IBF king Subriel Matias, with the Puerto Rican monster defending his title against Australian Liam Paro in a homecoming defence on June 15.
Hitchins has designs on sitting ringside at the Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu in Manati knowing that he’ll be next for the winner, and although the IBF 10 pounds check-weigh is always a consideration with the IBF and a showdown with WBC king Devin Haney also whets his appetite, the Brooklyn star would gladly tackle Matias for the belt to prove he’s ready to dominate a division that is rapidly becoming the most exciting in the sport.
“I am not going to lie, I do prefer the WBC route – but if the opportunity presents itself for the World title, and on Saturday I feel good, why not the IBF?’ said Hitchins. “It’s a big fight with me and Subriel Matias, everyone would be interested in that, so let’s see what comes to the table.
“I have a fight to focus on, Devin has a fight to focus on, I’ve got a tough Argentinian in front of me and things that I have to go out and do. I want to show on Saturday what I’ve always been showing; that I am a great fighter, a dominant fighter. I’ve shown that time and again, it’s the same old story. People say that it’s going to be a tough fight for me, they’ll be surprised if I can make it look easy, but then I go out there and do that again and again.
“If I am in a tough fight with someone that’s never been in with anyone of the calibre of me, imagine what type of fight it’s going to be for the guy fighting me. Boxing is all about distance and timing, knowing what shots to pick, where to be, it’s a sweet science and I think I am one of the young masters of it.
“Everybody had a lot of shit to talk about my last fight against Jose Zepeda so no-one should miss this one because the fans have made me put on not a dominant performance, because I’ve already done that, but a punishing dominant performance. I can’t let Lemos get away with any mistakes, any mistakes he makes, he’s got to pay. I feel like this is going to be another performance like John Bauza, it’s going to show that you put a guy in front of me that isn’t at the top of the sport, period, I’ll show his levels.
“I don’t know much about him so I can’t say if this is the toughest test of my life. I’ve been at the high level for a long, long time, since the amateurs and moved in the pro ranks where I’ve had to prove myself early. Zepeda talked about experience before our fight, but I told him, I have experience. People were building up the fight because he’d fought for the World title three times, but I had already beaten a World champion, a guy that had done what Zepeda was trying to do.
“So when people were saying that it was going to be a tough test, when I got in there on September 23, he was one of the easiest fights of my career that I can remember, from pro debut to now. That’s a testimony to how much I’ve grown as a professional and a fighter, I made that fight clearly easy, so we’ll see what happens with Lemos, he’s a guy that hasn’t fought anyone with any craft or skills, so when he gets in there with me, it’s going to be a whole different ballgame because he’s not just that he’s going up in levels, he’s fighting one of the best young boxers in the sport – period.
“When you get in the ring with me it’s way different from standing in front of anyone else, and he’ll see that. He’s tough, he’s Argentinian, he’s going to try have his way but it’s my job to neutralize that. I can be anything I need to be to be victorious on the night.”
Hitchins’ clash with Lemos is part of a big night of action in Las Vegas as fellow rising contender Diego Pacheco defends his USWBC and WBO International Super-Middleweight titles against Shawn McCalman.
World title action on the card comes in the form of unbeaten Australian Skye Nicolson looking to claim a World crown at the first attempt as she meets Sarah Mahfoud for the vacant WBC Featherweight strap, while British Olympic gold medal man Galal Yafai defends his WBC International Flyweight title against Agustin Mauro Gauto.
Marc Castro gets a first title bout in his 12th pro outing, taking on Abraham Montoya for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Super-Featherweight title, Harley Mederos is in action for the sixth time in the paid ranks over six rounds against Pedro Vicente and there’s a pro debut for former Team USA talent Steven Navarro over six rounds at Super-Flyweight against Jose Lopez.