Hitchins Knocks Out Kambosos Jr., Challenges Devin Haney After IBF Title Defense
Richardson Hitchins called out Devin Haney after his impressive win over George Kambosos Jr to keep his IBF light-welterweight title.
Enet
Richardson Hitchins called out Devin Haney after his impressive win over George Kambosos Jr to keep his IBF light-welterweight title.
At 27, Hitchins headlined his first show in New York, his hometown, and stopped Kambosos with a left hook to the body in the eighth round.
This was his first defense of the title he claimed by beating Liam Paro last December.
He dominated the fight at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, landing many more punches than Kambosos, a former lightweight world champ.
In the eighth round, Hitchins knocked Kambosos down. The Australian got up before the count of 10 but was Clearly in pain and couldn’t continue.
With this win, Hitchins improved to an undefeated 20-0 record, with eight knockouts.
“I’ve been telling everyone I was coming, and they should have listened,” he said.
He added, “I told Kambosos’ dad, ‘If you love your son, stop the fight.’ He’s tough and a real fighter, but I was just better tonight.”
Kambosos shocked Teofimo Lopez in this same venue in 2021 to become the unified lightweight champ.
However, he lost back-to-back fights to Haney and now has four losses in his last six fights, putting his record at 22-4.
Hitchins said, “I knew I had to take some risks to land good shots. I put myself in danger. He hit me a few times, but they didn’t hurt me. So, I went for the finish.”
After the fight, WBO champ Lopez jumped into the ring. But Hitchins turned his focus on Haney, who moved up in weight to beat Jose Ramirez last month.
Later on X, Haney said, “We could get it at 147 (welterweight).”
On the undercard, Brighton’s Adam Maca made his pro debut and knocked out Rafael Castillo in the second round.
