NEW YORK — Richardson Hitchins may be returning home as a champion, but he never forgot where he came from. The man known as “Africa” around the local New York scene is from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, to be exact, the cross section of Utica Ave & President St., between Rochester Ave. to be even more precise. It was in this neighborhood, far deeper into the borough than the higher rent Brooklyn neighborhoods like Williamsburg and DUMBO, where he first put on gloves at age 12 and began the journey that saw him go from the local amateur scene, to the 2016 Olympics and finally on to becoming a world champion in his most recent fight.
Though he walked into his media workout on Wednesday at Gleason’s Gym without his IBF junior welterweight title belt on his shoulder, there was no mistaking that he was the King of New York. Hitchins is the only current world champion from New York; that is if you don’t count Teofimo Lopez (and Hitchins doesn’t), the WBO junior welterweight titleholder who was born in Brooklyn but moved to Florida at age five.
Hitchins’ next fight, a title defense against former undisputed lightweight champion George Kambosos Jnr, will be Hitchins’ first in his hometown since his one-sided dismantling of John Bauza over two years ago. Now, instead of being on the undercard, Hitchins has top-billing at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
“New York is one of the places where nobody gets behind you until they see you did it. It’s sad but it’s true but now that I’m in this position, now is the time to see the city embrace me and really support me. It’s not like they’re just supporting a guy who can’t fight, I think one of the most skilled fighters in boxing,” said the 27-year-old Hitchins, 19-0 (7 KOs).
Hitchins, who represented Haiti at the 2016 Olympics, added world champion to his resume last December, defeating Liam Paro by split decision in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Since then, he says life has changed quite a bit. The most visible evidence of his success was around his neck, as he jumped rope and hit punch paddles with trainer Lenny Wilson with his diamond chain still on.
“Being world champion will definitely change your life. The money’s different, the women different, the lifestyle different, everything is different now,” said Hitchins.
The biggest money available would likely come against the other big names at 140lbs and above, including Lopez and Devin Haney. First, he’d have to get past Kambosos, 22-3 (10 KOs), the 31-year-old from Sydney, Australia who, in that same building, pulled off one of the most significant upsets of recent years, when he climbed off the canvas to defeat Lopez by split decision. Kambosos has only lost to the very best that he’s been in the ring with, including two points losses to Devin Haney and an 11th round stoppage to Vasiliy Lomachenko in what will likely be his final bout, giving Hitchins an opportunity to measure himself against those two names.
A spectacular performance against a recognizable name in a main event fight would go a long way towards building demand for him to fight one of those mega-bucks opponents.
“We couldn’t get Teofimo Lopez, because that was the fight that was in talks. So we got George Kambosos, a guy who has only lost to the best of the best in boxing. He’s a top tier opponent, and he was the best available guy,” said Hitchins.
“I gotta dominate whoever I’m in front of to get to any level in boxing. It’s not so much about stopping George Kambosos; it’s about going out there and putting on a dominant performance. The big fights, it’s already here, I’m a world champion. The boxing world, especially with the guys around my weight class, there’s not 20 fights they can fight without Richardson Hitchins eventually getting in the mix. Rolly got his way in the mix with the Ryan Garcia fight. Slowly but surely with my world title with the city behind me, everything that I bring to the sport of boxing, the fights are there, they’re looming. They’ll be soon in the near future.”
Wilson, who has trained Hitchins since he was 15, says that becoming champion made him a better fighter overall, as did his tough moments along the way. Wilson says that his too-close-for-comfort fight last year with Gustavo Lemos prepared him for the sort of offensive blitz they expect from Kambosos.
When the topic switched to potential fights with Haney or Lopez, Wilson wasn’t worried about how his fighter would handle those assignments.
“Haney and Richardson used to spar all the time, I watched them spar since they were kids coming up. I think that with Haney, he would do excellent because they’re familiar with their styles and abilities. I think Teofimo has holes in his arsenal and his defense. If you’re in the ring with a guy like Richardson Hitchins, you’re gonna have a lot to contend with. Not to take nothing away from Teofimo, but styles make fights,” said Wilson.
Hitchins adds that, if a deal with Lopez, whom he derides as a “bozo” and “goofy”, can’t be made against Haney, that he would be willing to take the flight to Saudi Arabia and fight Haney instead.
“After this fight I’m down to go to Saudi and me and Devin Haney will make a big fight happen. I’ve been calling out Devin Haney before I was world champion so I don’t know what the fuck Teofimo got going on but as far as me, I’m ready to get into the mix,” said Hitchins.
First, Hitchins has to show he can deliver in New York. With just two “A-side” fighters from the New York metropolitan area on the undercard, the load of carrying the promotion falls on Hitchins. The outgoing, verbose Hitchins is more than capable of talking fans into the building; now it’s on him to show he has the boxing ability to keep them coming back.
“Now I’m an undefeated champion from New York, and representing the city, I think that New York boxing is in good hands with me,” said Hitchins.
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.