George Kambosos Jr. predicts he will beat IBF light welterweight champion Richardson Hitchins and dethrone him in his first defense on June 14th at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
Kambosos Predicts Hitchins Upset
The former unified 135-lb champion Kambosos Jr. (22-3, 10 KOs) insists this isn’t about money for him. He’s already a millionaire from his two fights against Devin Haney, clashes against Vasily Lomachenko, and Teofimo Lopez.
He says this is more about returning to the venue where he captured his lightweight belts against Teo in 2021 at MSG. The little ‘Emperor’ Kambosos wants to become a two-time world champion and prove many people wrong.
It’s believed that the only chance the past his peak Kambosos, 31, has of winning is to make it a physical fight from the jump, rough up the sometimes timid Hitchins, and go after him early. He can’t afford to wait because Hitchins will box and build up a wide lead early.
When Richardson gets a lead, he sits on it by using his Shakur-esque hit-and-move style to avoid contact. It’s boring but effective. It’s one of the reasons why Hitchins is so desperate for opponents. No one wants to fight him because he’s dull, fans boo, and the big money isn’t there like with the more popular fighters.
George’s Motivation: Not Money
“This is not about money, don’t get it twisted, I’ve made a s***load of money. This is about catching that feeling again, and I’m coming back to the same place I caught that feeling before,” said Kambosos Jr. to Matchroom Boxing. “This is about proving to the world who I am, the champion that I am, the champion I have been. I’ve been to this place, I proved myself as an underdog, and I’m coming to do it again.”
It sounds like Kambosos is longing for the old days when he became a one-hit wonder with his upset of an injured, ring-rusty, and non-motivated Teofimo in 2021. Kambosos transmuted that one win into a fortune, making millions. He’s trying to recreate that magic with another upset, albeit against a far less popular Hitchins.
The reason Hitchins has chosen to defend against Kambosos:
- Strategic Matchmaking: This is part of the career management approach by Hitchins’ team. Putting him in against a guy who has little chance of winning
- Defensive non-action style: Richardson’s defensive style makes him a pariah. With Hitchins’ style, Kambosos is the best he can get under the circumstances.
- Zero marketability and fan appeal
- Name recognition: Kambosos is well known from his brief time as the unified lightweight champion, fights against Teofimo, Lomachenko, and Haney.
“If you fought Lopez, Haney twice and Lomachenko when I fought them, they would beat your ass, and I will beat your a** on June 14,” said Kambosos.
Hitchins vs. Haney would be a toss-up. Richardson would lose to Teofimo and Vasily Lomachenko because those guys have too much offensive talent for him. He wouldn’t be able to box his way to an ugly victory.
The fight many boxing fans are interested in for the June 14th Matchroom event is lightweight contender Andy Cruz (5-0, 2 KOs) facing Hironori Mishiro (17-1-1, 6 KOs) in an IBF title eliminator.
Undercard Fights
– Andy Cruz vs. Hironori Mishiro
– Alexis Barriere vs. Roney Hines
– Ernesto Mercado vs. Jonathan Montrel
– Zaquin Moses vs. Carl Rogers
– Pablo Valdez vs. Cesar Diaz
– Nishant Dev vs. Josue Silva
– Adam Maca vs. TBA
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