George Kambosos Jr. will challenge Richarson Hitchins for his IBF light welterweight title in June in New York if he’s victorious on Saturday night against Jake Wyllie in Sydney, Australia.
(Credit: Matchroom Boxing)
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed today that Kambosos Jr. (21-3, 10 KOs) will be fighting Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) next if things go well for him in his 12-round headliner against Wyllie (16-1, 15 KOs).
Aussie Market
Interestingly, Hearn says Wyllie could face Hitchins if he’s victorious. Now, that would be a surprise because he’s not well known by Americans, and a match involving him wouldn’t sell in New York.
Hearn mentioning the possibility of Wyllie winning indicates that he’s lost confidence in Kambosos. His repeated poor showings since 2022 are a good reason for that.
George’s 1-3 record in his last four fights makes it difficult for Hearn to be confident about him getting his hand raised on Saturday. If not for Hearn’s wanting to enter the Australian market for Matchroom, he likely would have never considered signing Kambosos because he’s dead weight career-wise.
The money that Kambosos has made in Australia shows the promise. If Hearn can get a foothold in the country, his fighters can take advantage of the situation.
The Hitchins Deal
“Definitely June in New York,” said Eddie Hearn to Ring Magazine about when George Kambosos Jr. vs. Richardson Hitchins will happen if everything goes right on Saturday night in Kambosos’s fight against his replacement opponent Jake Wyllie in Sydney.
“As soon as this fight is over, we’ll start negotiations with Team Kambosos, and we’ll try and make the fight. Hitchins is done. He signed up for it already. It’s not a problem for George. He made a lot of money.”
Hitchins has sounded desperate to get the fight with Kambosos because he’s been avoided by the top fighters at 140 due to his defensive style of fighting. He fights a lot like Shakur Stevenson, and sometimes, he’s unwilling to engage when facing opposition with power. Hitchins was booed in his fights against Gustavo Lemos and Jose Zepeda because he was on his bike and retreating whenever attacked.
In Hitchins’ last contest against Liam Paro, he stayed in the pocket more and was willing to engage. That approach paid off, with him winning a 12-round split decision. His style is a bad one for Kambosos, and it’s surprising that ‘The Emperor’ is willing to face him for his belt. However, George’s options are slim at 140.
He wouldn’t do well against the other champions, Alberto Puello and Gary Antuanne Russell. Teofimo Lopez would be the ideal choice for Kambosos to capture a belt at light welterweight, but he’s chasing bigger fights. He won’t take his career backward to fight a guy who has arguably lost his last four fights.
The Contingency
“You saw him headline in Australia in front of 40 50,000. He’s fought Haney twice, Lomachenko, and he beat Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden,” said Hearn about Kambosos. “So, he’s coming back to America as a challenger, but a big-name challenger. Listen, he’s got to get past Jake Wyllie.
“If Jake Wyllie wins on Saturday, he could be fighting Richardson Hitchins for the world title. So, first things first. You’ve got to focus on what’s in front of you, and it’s going to be a tough fight,” said Hearn.
Hearn must really want to get into the Australian market to be willing to use Wyllie as a Challenger for Hitchins in June. That fight would only make sense happening if it were staged in Australia.
Hitchins doesn’t have a lot of options for interesting fights because the big names, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, and Teofimo Lopez, aren’t going to fight him without Turki Alalshikh’s involvement.
Last Updated on 03/19/2025
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