IBF light welterweight champion Richardson Hitchins says he views George Kambosos Jr. as an “accomplished bum,” and he’s going to send him back to the “club shows” circuit in Australia after he beats him on June 14th at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City. Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) states this will be Kambosos Jr’s “last paycheck” in the sport.
Kambosos’ Wealth
If this is the little ‘Emperor’ Kambosos’ last paycheck in boxing, he’ll be okay because he’s already quite wealthy from his fights against Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney x 2, and Vasily Lomachenko. Kambosos Jr (22-3, 10 KOs) has made millions from those fights, and the only one of those four bouts that he won was against Teofimo. That fight paved the way for George to bank millions from his fights against Haney and Lomachenko.
Hitchins, 27, hand-picked Kambosos for his first defense of his IBF 140-lb title despite the Aussie having a lowly record of 2-3 in his last five fights, with one of the victories being highly questionable against Maxi Hughes. In a true sense, we’re talking about Kambosos Jr. going into the fight with Hitchins with a 1-4 record since 2022.
Hitchins should be fighting better opposition than this, like his IBF mandatory Subriel Matias, WBA champion Gary Antuanne Russell, or WBC champ Alberto Puello. Those guys would be a real threat to Hitchins. So, it makes sense for him to play it safe, fighting Kambosos in a Matchroom-promoted in-house show.
Today’s Rocky
“I feel like as a fighter, he’s a bum. He’s an accomplished bum. I like to call George Kambosos today’s Rocky. Every fight, he’s bloodied, ugly, but he’s a warrior,” said Richardson Hitchins to Ring Magazine about his next fight against former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. on June 14th.
Kambosos has made a lot more money than Hitchins has in his career. It’s unclear that Hitchins will be able to earn the kind of dough that Kambosos Jr. has without getting the big names to fight him. The problem that Hitchins has is his fighting style. It’s similar to Shakur Stevenson, who is an avoided guy because he’s a defensive, safety-first type.
“This fight right here. He thought [Vasily] Lomachenko did something to him,” said Hitchins about Kambosos Jr.”What I’m about to do to him in two months, it ain’t going to be nice. After this fight, he’s going back to club shows in Australia. It’s over with. He believes in himself, but when he gets in there, I don’t know. When you feel it, it’s a little different. You seen how [former IBF light welterweight champion] Liam [Paro] was talking.”
No one is doubting that Hitchins will beat Kambosos. It’s a mismatch on paper, and it’s a match that shouldn’t be happening. #3 IBF Kambosos does not deserve to be fighting for the title at 140 after just one fight in the light welterweight division against Jake Wyllie, who isn’t a contender. A contender with a 2-3 record doesn’t rate to be challenging for a world title.
Better Options
Again, Hitchins should be fighting one of the champions, Russell or Puello. If not them, he should have chosen one of these worthy contenders:
– Subriel Matias
– Elvis Rodriguez
– Oscar Duarte
– Kenneth Sims
“Liam was talking all that, but once he got in there, he was jittery. So, it’s going to happen to this man. George Kambosos is over with,” said Richardson. “This is his last paycheck in boxing. After this, he’s put of here. From the first time I seen him fight, I said he ain’t good, but I can’t take credit away from him. He is a former undisputed [correction: Kambosos is a former unified 3-belt lightweight champion. He was NEVER the undisputed champion at 135],” said Hitchins.
Last Updated on 04/13/2025
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