Fighter Of The Week: Richardson Hitchins
On an awesomely loaded weekend of boxing, one newly acquired prospect shined brightest. Eddie Hearn's newest acquisition absolutely dominated his opponent in a battle of unbeatens. Richardson Hitchens of Brooklyn, New York, may have been fighting in a different borough of New York City, for a different promoter, on a different network, but it was the same old Richardson Hitchins. Hitchins dominated John Bauza over ten stunningly one-sided rounds in a bout that should have been stopped. Move his record to 17-0 (7), captured our Fighter of the Week award, and put the 140-pound weight class on notice.
Two days before the Hitchins-Bauza fight, undefeated prospect John Bauza, a southpaw from North Bergen, NJ, questioned the power of the New Yorker. Bauza instantly regretted that comment as soon as the fight started. Hitchins scored a knockdown in the opening round and dominated the opening three stanzas. Things went from bad to worse for the Jersey-based southpaw. A right hand buckled Bauza and put him on the seat of his pants at the midway point of the fourth. He beat the count and survived the round. The sixth round saw Hitchins blasting his opponent with one big right hand after another. The only question was could Bauza survive the onslaught? He was fighting valiantly but holding on as Hitchens stayed the course and continued boxing masterfully. Scoring with a pair of one-two combinations that again rocked the outclassed New Jersey native. Hitchens continued scoring with laser-like one-twos and staggered Bauza, who was able to hang on and last the difference. The scores could not have been more lopsided. All three judges scored every single round for the Brooklynite. Tack on the two knockdowns and the scorecards came out to 100-88 x3.
Just like in last week's Fighter of the Week with Alexis Rocha, Hitchins is in a similar position. He's ready! He's ready! He's peeking. He is highly talented and destroys everyone at this level. It's time to take a giant step up. The New Yorker should look in the direction of Regis Prograis. The other world titles at 140 pounds are held by Josh Taylor, who holds the WBO title but is supposed to meet up with Jack Catterall for a second time. The WBA strap is held by Alberto Puello and fights predominantly on the PBC side, and with the loaded amount of talent on that side of the street, them fighting Hitchins, who just left the company seems more than highly unlikely. The IBF title is currently vacant. Making Prograis the most realistic title opportunity. Just like Rocha with Crawford in the division north. Hitchins is ready for world-level opposition, and the name that is most readily available happens to be one of the best fighters in the sport. It's sink or swim time for Hitchins, but then there are tune-up step-ups in future step-up fights or tune-up fights. Hitchins is ready!
