Oscar Duarte completed training camp and made weight for his first major title fight, yet he was left with nothing to show for that sacrifice.
To date, not even his promised paycheck.
A streaking 140lbs contender from Parral, Mexico, Duarte is less frustrated about the financial aspect of the ordeal than he is about not getting the chance to challenge IBF titlist Richardson Hitchins. Both boxers made weight twice – at the official pre-fight weigh-in and then on the second-day safety check. However, Hitchins, 20-0 (8 KOs), fell ill and was pulled just hours before their scheduled February 21 clash at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Their bout was slotted as the co-feature for last weekend’s DAZN pay-per-view event, topped by Ryan Garcia’s WBC 147lbs title-winning effort over Mario Barrios. Mexico’s Duarte was left without a fight and – so far – a payday.
“Right now, we’re just waiting to settle up from last weekend and figure out my next move,” Duarte told BoxingScene. “I’m still waiting to get made but was told personally by Oscar De La Hoya that it will be taken care of very soon. So I am calm about that. But I still want to fight as soon as possible.
“Looking back at last week, it was an ugly feeling when I was told the fight was off. I felt like my dreams were crushed. I’ve always envisioned winning a world title and sacrificed greatly in training for this fight. I left my family behind in Mexico, I sacrificed time with my five-year-old daughter and obviously wanted to spend time with her as much as I could.”
BoxingScene has since learned that Duarte will be paid an advance by Golden Boy for a portion of his contracted fight purse – and then the rest once the matter is settled up with the event handlers.
Job one, however, remains securing a new fight date as soon as possible.
Duarte, 30-2-1 (23 KOs), had been in camp since last December under the watchful eye of multi-time Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia, his head coach since 2024. The union has led to Duarte rattling off a four-fight win streak since his December 2023 knockout defeat against Ryan Garcia (no relation to Robert), all of which came at 140lbs after he moved up for good from lightweight.
Hitchins, 20-0 (8 KOs), and his team sought out Duarte as a voluntary defense as the clock wound down before he was due to face mandatory challenger Lindolfo Delgado.
The fight-night development left Hitchins in a difficult position. As far as the industry was concerned, the right thing to do would have been to reschedule with Duarte.
However, the IBF intervened and called for the negotiation period to begin for his mandatory title defense.
Duarte and Delgado are both trained by Garcia.
“Well, I am very happy for Lindolfo,” insisted Duarte. “He is the mandatory challenger; plus we train together, and he is a friend of mine. I like Lindolfo a lot. But I do feel like I was pushed to the side.
“If Hitchins was a real man, he would have pushed to fight me. He really doesn’t have the balls to fight me. The fans all saw what happened, but I hope Lindolfo can beat him since I won’t get the opportunity.”
Hitchins and Delgado have until March 24 to reach a deal for their title fight. In the event that Hitchins decides to move in a different direction and vacate, it would leave Delgado and Duarte as the two highest-rated IBF contenders.
“The division is stacked, and hopefully we can both achieve our dream without having to fight each other,” noted Duarte, before offering a disclaimer. “That said, my goal is to become world champion. So I don’t care who I have to beat to achieve that. I’m willing to fight anyone, even if it means facing one of my friends in the ring.
“Right now, I still feel like none of this makes sense. My body is in peak condition, and I’m ready to fight right now. Fighters say that, but I am literally ready to fight right now since we were cheated out of that opportunity last weekend. I just want everything cleared up.”
