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Geoffrey Knott / MatchroomNEW YORK CITY – Richardson Hitchins had the homecoming of a lifetime, spoiling George Kambosos Jnr’s return to The Theater at Madison Square Garden with an eighth-round technical knockout win Saturday.
Hitchins, who was defending his IBF junior welterweight title for the first time, finished the former unified lightweight champion with a right hand to the head followed by a left hook to the body, the latter punch doing the decisive damage.
The time of stoppage was 2 minutes, 33 seconds, as the fight was waved off by referee Michael Griffin because of its one-sided nature.
THE BODY SHOT DOES IT 😤 @heisrichardson
And Still 👏#HitchinsKambosos pic.twitter.com/miwRXSABdj
The fight was the first for Hitchins in his hometown since February 2023 and his first fight to be finished inside the distance since November 2022.
It was a mismatch from the start, as Hitchins’ laser-guided jab popped Kambosos’ head back shortly after the opening bell. All of the animosity of fight week might have convinced observers they would see an emotional brawl from Hitchins. Instead it was a counterpunching festival, as Hitchins timed Kambosos’ lunges to land his punches with precision down the middle.
Hitchins, 20-0 (8 KOs), of the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York, continued to pick Kambosos apart with his jab in the second, and countered with rights whenever Kambosos threw the jab to the body. Kambosos’ only connects in the second were with looping right hands to the body, and he never followed up with hooks upstairs.
Kambosos began to break down in the third, as right hands crashed into his face with regularity. Hitchins adjusted from his shoulder rolls, fighting behind a peekaboo defense instead, to draw Kambosos in for counters. Kambosos’ toughness was never in question, as he waved Hitchins in for more, even as punches crashed against his head and body.
Kambosos finally landed a significant punch in the fourth, an overhand right that momentarily brought his supporters to their feet. Hitchins shook off the effects in short order, finishing the round with a brilliant display of punch placement, including two straight rights in a row, and weaving under a wide Kambosos hook to land a left hook to the body.
While Kambosos was able to take the punches to the head, the shots to the body were beginning to break him down. A left hook to the body that Kambosos didn’t see momentarily took his breath away, leaving him wincing and defenseless as Hitchins capitalized with straight rights to the head that drove him back.
By the eighth, it was clear that Hitchins wanted to finish the bout and make a statement in front of his hometown fans. He opened the round by walking Kambosos down, landing leaping left hooks and left uppercuts as Kambosos leaned forward trying to land punches. After a brief Kambosos rally, Hitchins brought the fight to a close with another body shot that Kambosos never saw coming.
Afterwards, Hitchins made the most of the spotlight to call for a fight that he wanted to make.
“Devin Haney, fuck you, n—a, let’s fight!,” he shouted towards ringside, where Devin’s father Bill – having heckled Hitchins from the opening bell – was standing. Teofimo Lopez Jnr, the WBO titlist in the division, was also in the ring afterwards, and seemed open to a fight between two New York-born 140lbs belt holders.
The loss was the first for Kambosos, 22-4 (10 KOs), in the United States, spoiling a 5-0 record in America for the Sydney, Australia, native. Kambosos had previously had his greatest success in the building, beating Lopez by split decision to lift the IBF, WBO and WBA 135lbs titles in November 2021.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
