Up until this point, Richardson Hitchins was expected to win. He was a star in the amateur game and looked incredibly skillful during his brief career. Hitchins though, wanted to be thrown into the deep end.
Eddie Hearn, his current promoter, heard Hitchins loud and clear. So, if it was a test Hitchins wanted, so be it.
Last month, Jose Zepeda stepped up to the plate. He didn’t say much during the buildup, but he continually clenched his fist and warned the former Olympian that he was in for a world of hurt. Zepeda, ultimately, was mendacious.
Hitchins cruised for most of the night. There were no seat-grabbing shots that landed for the former title challenger. Zepeda’s normally effective tricks were rendered useless as well. With each passing round, it was the same old song and dance. Jab, jab, right hand, grab, hold, jab, jab, right hand, left hand, grab, repeat.
It wasn’t the most exciting fight, but Hitchins got the job done. Now, the 25-year-old has his eyes set on another big-time name. Luckily for him, the super lightweight division has a ton of them.
Of course, Hitchins (17-0, 7 KOs) would love nothing more than to fight for a world title. That dream, however, is ostensibly a bit out of reach. Still, there are more pragmatic choices at Hitchins’ disposal, one being Jack Catterall.
The British contender shook off the disappointment of his controversial defeat at the hands of Josh Taylor to pick up a win against Darragh Foley. He’ll look to take care of business against Jorge Linares in the coming weeks on October 21st.
Hitchins is now hoping to bring his pad and pencil with him to his ringside seat while he makes his way halfway across the world. Catterall still has work to do, but Hitchins admits that they could get it on at some point in the near future.
“I was just telling Eddie I wanna come to the UK,” Hitchins told a group of reporters. “Me and Jack Catterall could be a potential fight.”