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Richardson Hitchins is solely focused on fighting IBF junior welterweight titleholder Liam Paro on Saturday in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
If Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs) beats Paro (25-0, 15 KOs), a slew of other big fights would suddenly become available to him.
Once such contest could be against Devin Haney, a fighter who Hitchins has previously called a fraud, soft, and a weight bully.
“Me and Devin Haney at the Barclays Center in New York would be pay-per-view,” Hitchins told BoxingScene. “It would be a big event and a huge fight. I'm a brash Brooklyn guy with real skills and with real pedigree. And you have another young accomplished guy with a resume.
“Haney is talented and could fight. He's good. I just feel like he was getting credit for being the boxer that he's not. That's what I always felt like. They were making him out to be this accomplished, young, great, American fighter when he really wasn't fighting anybody. The minute he took a chance to step up in greatness, it was a calculated chance in Vasiliy Lomachenko. It was his last fight at 135 pounds and he was the way bigger man. Lomachenko also showed a lot of vulnerabilities leading up to the Haney fight. If guys like me or Shakur Stevenson had the opportunity to fight George Kambosos Jnr to become undisputed, it would be a whole different story. They'd be saying the same thing, but guys like me and Shakur are better boxers than Devin Haney.
“Devin is a good boxer but he's not the fighter that the boxing world was hyping him out to be. He never fought anybody. It was careful matchmaking. A lot of fighters in professional boxing are really not that good, if you really want to be honest. Ninety percent of people who watch boxing don't even know what they are watching. Devin used his athleticism and his skills to maneuver. But when he fought Ryan Garcia, it showed he had weaknesses and holes. When people tell me, 'I have no chance against Devin Haney' and shit like that, I'm like, 'Bro, he's not the guy you think he is.'”
Haney is currently the WBC’s 140-pound champion in recess and has not fought since the controversial clash against Garcia in April. Haney was knocked down three times in the fight and suffered a majority decision loss, only to have the result overturned to a no contest after Garcia tested positive for the performance enhancing drug ostarine.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
