Speaker 1: What is my great pleasure to welcome back to our
podcast this week it is the IBF Junior Wealthweight World Champion,
Richardson Hitchins and Richardson. I know you're in Vegas already
getting ready for your big fight. I'll tell our listeners
and our viewers on YouTube what you've got coming up.
Pretty good fight. I think if you're defending your title,
you'll be taking on the very tough Oscar Duarte. It's
February twenty first, it's the co feature on his own
pay per view on the Mario Barrios Ryan Garcia card
at the Team Mobile. They're in Las Vegas, So welcome
to the show. Thanks for doing this. You look like
you've got your game face on already.
Speaker 2: Yes, I'm ready. I'm ready.
Speaker 3: I'm so ready to go out there and compete. You know,
versus Oscar Dorte is gonna be a great fight.
Speaker 1: And yeah, well it's going to be your second title defense.
Back in June, you had a really good performance against
the former lightweight unified champion and George Cambos As Junior.
You fought him at home in New York, where you're from.
Totally dominating performance, knocked him out in the eighth round,
And having watched that fight and coming away from that fight,
that sort of the conversation afterwards was that we all
knew that Richardson Hitchin's an outstanding boxer and he can
you know, he's got a lot of gifts, and he
was a top amateur. But he made things in this
fight a lot more crowd pleasing, you know, or a
little more offensive minded, went forward and really took the
guy apart, maybe more so than some other fights. How
did you feel about the way that you performed in
did you feel like there was maybe a little pressure to,
you know, maybe make it littlemore fireworks on, more exciting
for the crowd.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know that was you know, my whole team,
my manager, everybody put it in my head that I
had to, you know, dismantle George Campboses, and I wanted
to do it myself because you know, he won twenty
four rounds with Devin Haney, he beat too Femal Lopez
and Lomonchenko was the only guy to stop him, and
I think that was an eleventh or twelve round. So
I wanted to go out there and and me and
George Camposes had a lot of built up Animassi. He
told me I'll never be world champion. He told me
I'll never fight in front of more than five hundred people.
And I felt like he didn't know what he was
talking to when he's saying that on Twitter. So I
went through out there and show him and show him
and tell him everything I was telling him on Twitter
when I told him I was the best, when I
told him I was better than everybody he ever thought,
I went to go out there and show him that
I wasn't all taught. And I think that after being
in the ring with me June fourteenth, I think now
he knows that I was one of the best guys
he ever stepped in the ring with.
Speaker 1: Well, I don't think there's any doubt about that. After,
like you said, after what that, you performed, and it
seems like you whatever pressure was on you to perform
in that manner, whether it was from your team or
from within yourself, obviously you did that and it seemed
to come at the perfect time because you were coming
up on becoming a promotional for Agent. Do you feel
like that really helped raise your stock both with the
fans as well as in the marketplace.
Speaker 2: I mean, yeah, of course.
Speaker 3: You know, the fans loved me after that, you know performance,
but you know boxing is they love you today, I
hate you tomorrow.
Speaker 2: So every performance got to be good, you know.
Speaker 3: And right now that's in the past, that's done, and
I'm trying to do it again next week.
Speaker 1: Well we'll get to that before we get to the
actual fight that you're gonna have. Originally, when they were
plotting out what the next fight for you would be,
the discussion was that you would have fought Jamaine Ortiz
on the Madison Square Garden card January thirty first, would
have been on the card that feature Tiafimo Lopez against
of course Stevenson, a big show that was then switched around.
They've moved Keshawn Davis onto that card, put him against
Jamaine Ortiz, and then moved you out into Las Vegas
for this card against Duarte. Were you okay with that
switch or were you sort of looking forward to fighting
once again at home in New York in the Madison
Square Garden main arena, also on another big show.
Speaker 2: I was looking forward to that. That kind of hurt
my art a little bit, but it is what it is.
Speaker 1: What was the did they give you a reason why
they decided to make the move. I mean, I don't
think you could have gone wrong either way. But what
were they telling you about that?
Speaker 2: I just got moved on and I just had to
take what's given to me.
Speaker 1: Stood. Well, now you've got Duarte in front of you,
let's get to that a little bit. I've seen him
fight many times. Most people view him as a really
good puncher, you know, aggressive Mexican fighter. He has won
four fights in a row since he suffered the knockout
loss against Ryan Garcia that was way back in December
of twenty twenty three. He's got some good wins too
since that loss, against guys that are legit, guys like
Kenneth Simms, bockedier Achmandov, who was an Olympian. What's Richardson
Hitchins's view of Oscar Duarte.
Speaker 3: He's fucked good guys. He's fucked good guys, tough guys.
But none of those guys are boxers, you know, really boxers.
None of those guys are really defensive guys like me,
and I think that when he gets in a ring
with me. Boxing is fun. Boxing is fun when you
can hit something. It's really really fun when you can
hit something, and guys is standing in front of you
and willing to fight you is fun.
Speaker 2: But when you find a guy like me that quote
unquote is a runner, it's not that fun.
Speaker 3: And I don't think he's gonna have that fun that
much fun next week because I'm not gonna stand against
the ropes and just let him pounce on me with
power shots. So everything he everything he everything he everything
he gets will be earned.
Speaker 1: And I'll make sure that this feels to me like
you are in a position, given your style and his style,
that this may be like the epitome of you hitting
and not getting hit. Is that sort of the way
that you envisioned a fight where you can make it
similarly exciting and entertaining the way you did against Cambosis,
But again, in that fight, you didn't really take a
lot of damage, You didn't take a lot of big
shots or anything like that. Is that sort of in
your mind like you can sort of do the same
against it, even though he's a little bigger, maybe a
little more physically strong than Cambosis.
Speaker 2: Dan, I got a question. You have you watched most
of my fights?
Speaker 1: Ritchie? I think I've seen probably just met every single
fight of your professional career.
Speaker 3: What fight would you say from a box and expert
that you've seen me take punishment in?
Speaker 2: None, So this would be no different.
Speaker 3: I think it will be hit and don't get hit.
I think that people want to call me a runner
if you watch my fights. I don't run around the ring.
Speaker 2: I don't. I don't do what Devin Haney.
Speaker 3: Versus Jose Remerz type of performance. I'm right in front
of you. I'm right, I'm right in front of you,
beating you up. Majority of the fights, even in the
fight with gustavn Lemmos, where people try to say but
people try to crucify me because of that win. That
and things happened before the fight that obviously I had
set out the media that I don't want to keep
speaking about. But if you watched that fight, he landed
a big shot, he landed a good shot the first round,
he landed a good shot the second round, and then
he landed a good shot the eighth round, and then
he had a good round in eighth round. Other than that,
majority of the fight was me outclassing him, out boxing him.
But like you know, I feel like people need to
just keep start giving my flowers, and some are after
now that I'm champion and I'm beating these guys. But
I think a lot of people don't really give my flowers.
But as long as I keep being guys like Oscar
door Tate and keep doing what I gotta do, a
lot of guys are going to get my flowers and
see that I'm one of the best boxers in the world.
Speaker 1: Well, I would say, even if the fight against Lemos
maybe wasn't the most proud pleasing of all, you guys
are allowed to have a fight where maybe it's not perfect.
I mean, you fought twenty times. If there's one or
two times, or maybe it wasn't perfect. That's the business.
I mean, everybody's gonna have an up night or down
night once in a while. You keep on winning, that's
the name of the game. Now you you fight now
in a very stacked weight class, one hundred and forty pounds,
it seems to me is one of the very best
in the division. We just saw Chaquar Stevenson with a
tremendous performance and winning the WBO title against tia Fimo Lopez.
A week or two before that, you had Dalton Smith
coming from the United Kingdom to New York and knocking
out Surreal Mattias in a really good fight, in an
excellent performance. And then when you fight on this card,
on the and Garcia card, right before you fight, there's
another world title fight in your way class. That's the
WBA champion Gary Antoin Russell is gonna be taken on
his mandatory challenger Andy Iroka from Japan. I just mentioned
about Keishaan Davis. He did stop Jamaine Ortiz January thirty. First,
you have a mandatory that's gonna come up against a
tough guy named lendelf Al Delgado from Mexico. Uh, who's
on your hit list? I know you got to get
past this fight with Duarte, but there seems to be
a real plethora of interesting quality names at one that
you could perhaps lock in with.
Speaker 3: I mean, right now, you know it's presented to me
after this fight, the Liam Smith Smith Dow Smith fight.
So yeah, I think that if we can make a
huge unification fight happen with that, that would be big.
Speaker 1: Hey, who's when you say presented, Who's who's that? Who's
asking you about that?
Speaker 3: I'm saying, you know, just my manager, other guys saying
that these fights that you know are possibly to happen,
and you never know. You've got guys like Gary Russell.
I have my mantoy also, so I really don't have
a hit list because I'm not at this level. Every
guy I fight will be a top guy. So as
long as I'm getting my credit for fighting and winning,
it is what it is.
Speaker 1: So you're willing to fight any of those guys, doesn't
matter to you.
Speaker 2: You're in now, it doesn't as long as it makes sense,
it doesn't matter to me.
Speaker 1: So one of the things I'm interested in is is
you're at one hundred and forty pounds, and I know
it's not the easiest thing for fighters to make the weight.
One thing I have heard from your manager, Keith Conley,
is that one of the things that's I won't say
it's a problem, but you'd like life a lot better
if you didn't have to deal with the IBF morning
weight check on Saturday. They're the one organization that makes
their fighters in World championship fights make a second day
weigh in to be within ten pounds of the division limit,
and that of course limits a fighter from you know,
rehydrating as much as they would like to do. How
much does that affect you or how much does that
bother you? And how much is it going to be
perhaps part of reasoning that eventually you'll leave the division.
Speaker 3: Uh yeah, that's definitely. If I don't get a unification fight,
that would be definitely one of the reasons why I
want to leave the division, because I don't want to
keep doing the IBA freehudation clause. I think it takes
away from my performances, especially certain places.
Speaker 2: That I fight at.
Speaker 3: You know, when you fight in Vegas, the fights happened
super early. I'll probably be in the ring. I'm gonna say,
what seven o'clock, gloved up by six, six fifteen, six
twenty ish, So I mean I would have to stop
eating by like four or five ish, and i'd be
a free hidation clause will be anywhere from eight eight
to nine o'clock in the morning, So all those things
I have to be mindful of.
Speaker 2: And it's it is what it is. I think that
I'll be.
Speaker 3: I think I'll be fine, but yeah, soon, I definitely
want to go to one forty seven and I'll be
cool finding for the forty seven IBF title up there.
But yeah, if I don't get utification fight. I'd rather
get out of here sooner or later.
Speaker 1: Well, the one good thing if you do get a
unification fight, they do waive that particular rule because the
other organizations don't require it. So that be a way
to still defend the title at one forty if you
could get one of the other champions in there. So
you think maybe this fight and if you could get
the unification, whether it's Dalton Spent or whatever, stick around
for another fight and then find your way up to
one hundred and forty seven.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 1: Pretty jammed. Also, you got an interesting main event that
you're fighting underneath is a world champion to fight that
division between Barrios and Garcia. You mentioned you kind of
dogged a little bit, Devin Hainey. Seems to me there's
a little animasi there is that a guy that you
might have your eye on in the one hundred and
forty seven pound weight class at some point.
Speaker 2: Sorry. Yep, yeah, Yeah, that's a fight that that I
want to fight.
Speaker 3: When he was at one forty and he moved at
the one forty seven, so that's gonna fight that's going
to have to happen today. He tweeted that he wants
me to win my fights, so he could be the
one to beat my ass. So yeah, it does all
great fights for the sport.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there are tons of good fights. Were you given
how many good fights there are and how many names
there are, whether it's at one forty or at one
forty seven, were you? Were you all a little disappointed
that you only got an opportunity to have one fight
in twenty twenty five, that is maybe as busy as
you would.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was a little disappointed for a fact.
But this year my magic promised people will make it
up to me. So looking forward to that.
Speaker 1: All right, So now when you when you when you
focus in on how you're gonna go against the ward.
You already talked a little bit about how you know
the whole concept of like hit, don't get hit and
uh and uh, I think you're just you think better
than he is of course in your mind, though, how
do you actually see this going? Is it just you
you play with him and win a decision? Do you
put some punishment on him and stop him like you
did with cam Bosis, Like what's the way you feel
like this is going to go? I assume having studied
him a little bit and watched what he's all about.
Speaker 3: Honestly, it depends on how tough he is, how tough
he is, and how much of a fight you bring.
I think that he's gonna bring a fight he has
he has. I'm Robert Garcia in his corner. I think
that's a guy that you know, he's a competitive coach.
He comes to make his fighters keep coming, keep coming,
keep coming.
Speaker 2: So but the more he come, the more he'll run
into stuff. So I just can't wait. I'm honestly, he
can't wait, Like I just can't wait.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be on your face.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just gonna be like.
Speaker 3: It's gonna be a fun, fun night of boxing, and yeah,
I'm I'm I'm. I'm happy to be, you know, competing
against Hospital Door Ta because uh, we'll see.
Speaker 1: It's part of that excitement because you're I mean, you've
you've headlined like you did against Cambosis, and you fought
in Las Vegas before, h in Great Venues and all.
But now you're the co feature on you know, a
pretty big card. I mean, Barrio Sparsi is getting a
lot of hype, you know, with TURKEYO she being behind
and everything So is that part of your your excitement
level that you're just getting a chance to be on
this big show.
Speaker 3: Nah, I just want to compete against Dorote because I
feel like he's gonna and bring a style at I
haven't faced, and probably, like I want to say, two
fights since Lomos Lomos was the last.
Speaker 2: I think almost, I.
Speaker 3: Would say almost may be a little bit more aggressive
than him from the eye test, I don't know, but.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I just want to see if if I just
want to show him that I'm not the guys he's
fighting like. I just want to show him like his level.
So uh yeah, that's where my excitement comes from. I
don't really care too much about the arena or nothing.
It's just another fight.
Speaker 1: Well, I'll be watching just another fight. I look forward
to it, yes, very much for the time and look
forward to seeing how it all plays out. You got
to a thick smile on your face, so I know you, yes, sir,
All right, Rittie, thank you so much for your time.
I appreciate good luck to you.
Speaker 2: Thank you