Subriel Matias congratulated Richardson Hitchins on his victory over IBF welterweight champion Liam Parr on Saturday night, letting him know he’ll be seeing him soon. Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) knocked off Paro (25-1, 15 KOs), winning a 12-round split decision at Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
(Credit: Melina Pisano/Matchroom)
If there is a fight, it would be a tough style for Hitchins, as Matthias wouldn’t be afraid of pressure like Paro was. He would send Richardson off like Gustavo Lemos did, but hit harder shots.
Mathias (22-2, 21 KOs) reckons Hitchins will decide to defend his newly won IBF belt against him, which could happen if he fails to get a bite from any of the big names his promoter Eddie Hearn has said he wants try to match it against the next one. Here are the four Hearn said he wants for Hitchins:
- Teofimo Lopez
- Devin Haney
- Jose ‘Rajo’ Valenzuela
- Jack Catterall
If Hearn can’t get any of those four to agree to face Hitchins, Mathias will likely be the guy he’s lined up against next. He is ranked #5 in the IBF, below Jack Catterall and Arnold Barbosa Jr. Mathias (21-2, 21 KOs) defeated Paro by unanimous decision in 12 rounds last summer on June 15th.
“See you soon”
Richardson Hitchins would move up to 147 if this fight is ever ordered. #Boxing pic.twitter.com/8KSMkioorkh
— Zain (@ZainBoking) December 8, 2024
Hearn didn’t mention former IBF light heavyweight champion Subriel Matias as a possible next opponent for Hitchins, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try to pursue this fight. The four guys Hearn mentioned won’t be excited to fight him because his style is bad for any of them.
“When I got into the ring later, some of Liam’s team came up to me and said, ‘Do you think we might have drawn the last one?’ Honestly, no. I won 8-4. 7-5 if you want to be really generous, but no,” Eddie Hearn said iFL TVtalking about Richardson Hitchins’ win over Liam Parr last Saturday night.
“When he read 117-111, I’m thinking, ‘Don’t tell me somebody’s giving it to Liam Parr.’ 117-111, you score 9-3 Liam Paro. That’s incredible. I told Liam that the problem for him was between five and ten, probably eleven, all clean rounds by Richardson Hitchins.
“Those rounds, he basically guaranteed six rounds. You have to give him maybe 12. Maybe it went to Liam, but for me it was 8-4 or 7-5. The real man won. It was one hell of a performance.
It’s a good thing Hitchins wasn’t robbed last Saturday night because that would have spoiled the evening. The judge scored it 117-111 for Paro, who had to focus on the little things he was doing and ignored all the clean right hands Hitchins threw at him from the fifth round onwards.
Next In Line?
“He’s going up against Teofimo Lopez for Brooklyn. It is a struggle for unification. The build would be epic. It’s a great fight,” Hearn said when asked who Hitchins will fight next. That’s what he’s going to do next because I think a fighter of Richardson’s quality should be fighting those guys. (Jose ‘Rajo’) Valenzuela. Obviously, we have (Jack) Catterall. He (Teofimo) is talking about moving to 147. Unite before you go,” Hearn said.
Hearn can get one of those guys to agree to fight Hitchins, but he’ll probably demand that His Excellency Turki Alalshik decide to arrange the fight in Riyadh. Hitchins doesn’t have the popularity to attract the names he and Hearn would like him to fight. These fighters would need to be well paid to agree to fight Hitchins due to the likelihood of him losing.