Oscar Duarte rails on Richardson Hitchins after title fight hooked

Richardson Hitchins and Oscar Duarte had a heated buildup to their fight, with each man vowing to knock the other out.

So one can imagine the utter disappointment felt by all when their co-main event was scrapped Saturday night after the IBF super lightweight world champion Hitchins pulled out of the bout due to an unspecified illness.

Duarte, understandably, did not take the news well. He blasted Hitchins in reacting to the cancellation inside of T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and live DAZN PPV and Ultimate Tier.

“I’m still in shock,” Duarte began saying. “I cannot believe it. I came to fight. I’m ready, and I had dreamt about the world championship. I got my shot at it and now, because of a guy with no balls, who is scared … I am upset that this is happening but I will keep my head up.”

Duarte vowed that his time to become a world champion will still come and thanked all those who support him.

“It’s very unfortunate with what happened,” he continued, “but I will stay strong.”

Duarte (30-2-1, 23 KOs) was aiming to become the first man to hand Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) his first professional loss and entered the proposed fight tonight with two victories in 2025.