'A fight the fans have to see!' - Hitchins chasing big American rival after Zuffa move

Richardson Hitchins has opened up on his recent signing with Zuffa Boxing.

The unbeaten 28-year-old was a guest on the latest episode of Inside The Ring and he spoke to Max Kellerman about how his move to the new promotional outfit came about.

Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) vacated the IBF super-lightweight title ahead of the move and is now looking for big fights at welterweight as he enters the next phase of his career.

The Brooklyn native believes he is now with the right team to take his career to the next level.

---

"I want to make mistakes to try new things"

Watch (1.21): Skye Nicolson outlines the major improvements she has made in the last 12 months

Nicolson vs. Turner live on DAZN subscription on Wednesday - watch here

---

“I feel like Zuffa is going to take over the sport of boxing,” said Hitchins.

“Having Dana White, Nick Khan and having so much power, we know Zuffa is coming with a lot of money behind them.

“Dana White did a lot of great things with the UFC and when I kind of sat down and was in negotiations, I just wanted to know that I’m gonna have a promoter that’s going to believe in me.

“And sell me to the world and let the world know that this is America’s next best thing, this is one of America’s best fighters.

“I feel like my promoters in the past, they took me to a certain level but they didn’t really push me the way I wanted to be pushed. I’m looking forward to this new chapter in my career.“

Ready for welterweight move

Hitchins, who won the title by outpointing Liam Paro in December 2024, hasn’t fought since stopping George Kambosos Jr. at Madison Square Garden in June last year.

He was due to fight Oscar Duarte in February but he fell ill following the weigh in and was forced to withdraw from the contest.

Hitchins blamed it on weight-making issues and he believes the fans will get to see the best of him as he moves up welterweight for his next outing.

He continued: “Right now, I think it’s the perfect time in my career [to move up in weight].

“It was a weird kind of move because, obviously, I won a world title at 140lbs and I wanted to make the best out of the world title, as far as getting the best opportunities and unifying, and trying to do great things in the division.

“But when I got the world title, I’d kind of outgrown the weight and I feel like I’m in the place that I’m not a big 147lbs, I’m on the smaller end for 147lbs, but I’m a big 140lbs.

“And especially having the world title that I had which was the IBF and having to do the rehydration clause and all that, I kind of took away from me and I can’t give fans the best version of me.

“I think at 147lbs you’ll see me a lot better, a lot faster, a lot stronger and I’ll be able to perform at my best.”

Hitchins still wants Davis

One fighter who is very much on his radar is Keyshawn Davis, who has also recently moved up to welterweight.

The pair had a heated clash when they came face-to-face at the press conference for Shakur Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez in December and they both vowed to fight each other in the future.

A bout between the two American rivals is a mouthwatering one for the fans, although Hitchins thinks it could be built up to be even bigger than it is right now.

He added: “I think that would be a great fight for the sport of boxing, I think that’s a fight the fans have to see.

“Everybody ask me, every time I walk the street, ‘what’s up with you and Keyshawn Davis?’, especially as it brought a long of spark to us as far as the fans seeing us fussing at each other.

“He’s a tremendous young fighter, I’m a tremendous young fighter, we both are in our primes and that is a fight that the fans could expect [to see] in the upcoming year, or you never know how it will play out.

“That is a fight that probably could marinade a little bit more because I think that it’s not ready as of yet. I feel it could be ready in the next year or so for us to get it popular and for it to make a lot of sense.”

Benavidez vs. Zurdo on DAZN PPV

Watch David Benavidez versus Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez on DAZN PPV this Saturday, May 2. Buy as a one-off PPV or get it included with the DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription, which also includes the Wardley vs. Dubois (May 9), Usyk vs. Verhoeven (May 23), Fury vs. Hall (June 13) and Zayas vs. Ennis (June 27) PPVs without any extra one-off costs.

For pricing, more information, and to sign up to watch, click here