Richardson Hitchins and George Kambosos Jnr recently let their taunts fly in a face-off on Matchroom’s YouTube channel before letting their fists fly June 14 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Hitchins’ IBF 140lbs world title will be on the line.
Though few expect the fight to be an action classic, the face-off was thoroughly entertaining. Hitchins insisted that he was better than Vasiliy Lomachenko, a surefire Hall of Famer, while Kambosos insinuated that Hitchins had only beaten Liam Paro for the title because Paro was distracted by the prospect of a fight with Kambosos.
Hitchins did a Saul “Canelo” Alvarez impression, raising his voice a few octaves to describe his level of talent as “different”, while Kambosos teased and prodded at Hitchins’ pride. If the fight is disappointing, just come back to rewatch the face-off.
Hitchins, though the less experienced and tested of the two, is the favorite. Kambosos, meanwhile, has run up against elite fighters like Lomachenko, Teofimo Lopez Jnr and Devin Haney. The downside? Aside from a brilliant upset win over Lopez – which remains Lopez’s only loss to date (your mileage may vary on whether he should have more) – Kambosos has scarcely won a round against his division’s elite.
“If you fought Lopez and Haney at the time that I fought Haney twice, and Lomachenko, they will beat your ass as well,” Kambosos insisted.
Perhaps. But Hitchins only has to fight Kambosos.
To make matters more interesting, depending on your outlook, Hitchins fights squarely in the Haney mold – a style that has already undone Kambosos twice. He has a precise, bruising jab, a fast counter right hand and an anti-action style.
“I need a name like Kambosos on my resume to show the world that I belong on top of the sport of boxing,” Hitchins said, promising that he would stop Kambosos.
Asked what makes him hungry for another world title, Kambosos said: “This is not about money. Don’t get it twisted. I’ve made a shitload of money. This is for me catching that feeling again.”
Kambosos then said his favorite nickname for Hitchins was “shitchins”, prompting Hitchins to propose a bet that the winner would take $50,000 off the loser. Kambosos, saying that he was “sitting on millions”, accepted the bet before Hitchins had even outlined the terms.
The fighters’ general arguments could be summed up as follows: Hitchins believes he is the more skilled fighter in every facet, while Kambosos thinks his greater experience against strength of competition and less conservative style will win out.
“The zero does not fucking matter anymore in boxing,” Kambosos said.
Owen Lewis is a former intern at Defector Media and writes and edits for BoxingScene. His beats are tennis, boxing, books, travel and anything else that satisfies his meager attention span. He is on Bluesky and can be contacted at owentennis11@gmail.com.