Richardson Hitchins says he’ll go up to 147 to challenge Devin Haney for the WBO welterweight title if he defeats champion Brian Norman Jr. on November 22nd. Hitchins isn’t interested in fighting Norman Jr. So, if he’s victorious against Haney, he won’t be moving up to 147.
Lopez Fight: Money Talks
The other target on Hitchins’ two-fighter list is Teofimo Lopez, which wouldn’t require him to go up to welterweight. What he will need is Turki Alalshikh to show interest in putting that fight on. Teo won’t fight Richardson (20-0, 8 KOs) unless he’s paid the kind of money he received for his title defense against Arnold Barboza Jr. on May 2nd. Even then, it’s unclear if he’ll fight him.
Hitchins is coming off an eighth-round knockout win over George Kambosos Jr. on June 14th in New York City. He believes that the fight put him on the world stage. However, it’s quickly been forgotten by fans, treated like junk food entertainment due to it being a low-level opponent. It would take a lot more than beating Kambosos Jr. for Hitchins to become popular, and he’s not willing to take the risks to become a big name. If he were, he’d be willing to fight Norman Jr., and he’s not.
“I did what Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez couldn’t do. That was annihilating George Kambosos,” said Richardson Hitchins to Curran Bhatia on his channel “I said what I did. I annihilated and violated George Kambosos.”
It’s nothing for Hitchins to brag bout, knocking out the depleted George Kambosos Jr. He’d been stopped in 2024 in Vasily Lomachenko’s final fight of his career. Kambosos had arguably lost four out of his last five fights before being selected as Hitchins’ opponent last June.
Rather than fighting Kambosos, Hitchins should have fought his then-IBF mandatory Subriel Matias or Gary Antuanne Russell. It looks bad that he chose Kambosos instead of those guys. which says his career is about. He’s just like everyone else. Just looking for paydays and not willing to take risky fights.
Haney, Lopez: “Easy Work”
“Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez,” said Richardson when asked who he wants next. “Easy work. He’s [Haney] got business coming up [WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. on November 22nd]. If he gets [ast that, I’m coming up right to 147. I’m chasing him down. I’m hunting him down. That’s the fight that I want.”
Hitchins’ Style: Runner Foe
Hitchins isn’t going to get fights against Haney or Teofimo because those guys don’t want to fight someone who stays on the outside and uses the Shakur-esque three-step pull-back method. Although Haney is a runner himself, he’s not fought other runners. He’s always focused on straight-ahead punchers. The one exception is when he fought Vasily Lomachenko, but he had a big size advantage against him.
“When I go up, I don’t want no excuses. He’s the bigger man. He’s been at the weight,” said Richardson about his dream of fighting Haney. “So, when I come up and grab his belt in my first fight at 147, the boxing world had better wake up and realize this is my s***.”
Hitchins’ 147-Pound Reality
Richardson needs to be more realistic. If he moves up to 147, the only fighters he can potentially get are WBO champion Brian Norman Jr. or Shakhram Giyasov. In other words, fighters that he won’t be eager to fight because he would likely lose. Haney, Ryan Garcia, and Teofimo won’t fight him because he has a difficult style, and he’s not popular.
“We really don’t like each other. We f*** around and bite each other. That’s how much we don’t like each other. It’s going to be a great fight for boxing,” said Hitchins about a fight between him and Devin.
Haney tolerates Hitchins like an annoyance, a house fly, but he has no true interest in fighting him. The guys that Haney wants are Ryan Garcia
Last Updated on 07/31/2025
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