Richardson Hitchins’ Plea to Teofimo Lopez: “Send the Contract”

Richardson Hitchins isn’t giving up on his pursuit of a fight against Teofimo Lopez. Today, the IBF light welterweight champion Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) called out Teofimo, saying he wants to fight him next, and then Devin Haney.

There’s a hint of desperation to the callout by Hitchins. He can’t stay at 140 for too much longer due to his massive welterweight size, and he’s got contenders breathing down his neck that will end his brief reign as the IBF champion.

Hitchins’ Forlorn Pursuit of Teofimo Lopez

In a desperate plea, Hitchins said, “Send the contract.” The sad reality is, WBO 140-lb champion Teofimo and Haney are out of his galaxy in terms of popularity. That’s not going to change because Richardson lacks the entertaining style to get either of those two to bite.

Fighters Hitchins Should Fight

– Ernesto Mercado
– Alberto Puello
– Gary Antuanne Russell
– Subriel Matias
– Jamaine Ortiz
– Lindolfo Delgado
– Shakhm Giyasov

Mercado (17-0, 16 KOs) has already repeatedly called out Hitchins for a world title shot and been ignored by him in the same way Matias has. With Mercado’s power, toughness, and amateur pedigree, that’s a guaranteed loss for Hitchins. It’s not surprising he wants nothing to do with Ernesto.

Hitchins’ Focus on Money Fights over Risky Rival

The perception fans have about Richardson Hitchins is that he’s just focused on money fights and doesn’t want anything to do with fighting any of the risky, talented contenders in the 140-lb division.

Hitchins is not trying to increase his popularity first by proving himself by fighting the A-level contenders like Mercado, Puello, Portiz, and Delgado. He’s also not shown any ambition to fight top 147lb guys like Giyasov.

The Brooklyn, New York native Hitchins is massive for the 140-lb division, and should have been fighting at welterweight a long time ago. It’s believed that he’s putting his body through torture to stay at 140 for as long as possible to enjoy a size advantage over his opposition.

In his last two fights, Richardson appeared drained entirely at the weigh-in, with sunken eyes and a zombie-like appearance. You could tell from looking at him that it’s killing him to stay in the light welterweight division.

Hitchins’ recent eighth-round knockout victory over the played-out former one-hit wonder George Kambosos Jr. last June wasn’t a good enough victory to move the needle in terms of his popularity.

I WANT TEOFIMO LOPEZ AFTER THAT I WANT DEVIN HANEY EASYYYYY WORK DROPS THE FU**king Mic SEND THE CONTRACT !

— Richardson Hitchins (@HeIsRichardson) August 6, 2025

That was the wrong person for Richardson to fight to increase his fame. Instead of fighting him, he should have defended against his former #1 challenger, Subriel Matias. Hitchins had been ignoring the former IBF champion Matias, choosing to milk his belt instead.