It’s been a bit of a slow route Richardson Hitchins. The former Olympian believes he has all the talent in the world but is simply waiting for the right moment to prove that he belongs.

With each passing win, Hitchins (16-0, 7 KOs) hurries over to the nearest computer he can find and begins to look up his rankings. A victory over John Bauza earlier this year placed the Brooklyn, native in the top five of the WBO sanctioning body. Of course, the reigning and defending champion of said body is Teofimo Lopez.

Hitchins’ now is just a few victories away from landing a title shot. Although he knows good and well that Lopez, in the eyes of many, is the division’s top dog, if the two finally get it on, Hitchins is convinced that he’ll completely outclass him.

“#5 in the WBO, I can’t wait to get my shot at Teofimo,” said Hitchins on his social media account recently. “I promise I’m a beat him so easy. Don’t be shocked neither. I been tryna tell y’all.”

At the moment, Lopez (19-1, 13 KOs) is kicking up his feet and dangling his super lightweight crown over his head. He’s also weighing his options. A win over Josh Taylor, the former undisputed kingpin, has Lopez strutting around the division like he owns the place. Who could blame him? Before the truculent star came along, Taylor beat the likes of Regis Prograis, Jack Catterall, albeit controversially, and Jose Ramirez.

But, once Lopez came stomping through the division, he easily wiped the floor with him, despite the closeness of the judges’ scorecards.

Hitchins can talk all he wants but it’ll all be extraneous if he looks like a non-factor on September 23rd. In his first main event, he’ll step up big time in competition when he takes on former title challenger, Jose Zepeda. So for now, as much as he would love to continue telling the public how easily he’ll defeat Lopez, he can’t take his eyes off the prize.

“We got business to handle next Saturday.”