American IBF super lightweight champion Richardson Hitchins has retained his title in a defense against Australian challenger George Kambosos Jr. The two headlined a Matchroom card at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York on June 14th.
Richardson Hitchins vs. George Kambosos Jr.
Fighting at super lightweight (140 lbs) for a total of 12 rounds, Richardson Hitchins (20-0, 8 KO’s) was be the defending champion on the night against George Kambosos Jr. (22-4, 10 KO’s) through the IBF title he had won previously against another Australian, previous IBF champion Liam Paro (15-1, 15 KO’s).
Hitchins had been the favorite to win, his unbeaten record and notable win against Paro far exceeding Kambosos’ recent form which saw him net three losses and three wins over his past five fights.
Hitchins, 27, quickly got ahead on the scorecards as his slick boxing combined with effective counterattacks and even pressure at certain points, gave the 32-year old Kambosos a hard time. Kambosos, long considered a tough an gritty fighter, found himself outmatched by Hitchins’ speed and skill, failing to do the damage needed to claim a victory with the pressure he sought to exert.
At the same time, Richardson Hitchins could not avoid having defensive relapses throughout the bout with plenty of Kambosos’ punches getting through but not significantly hurting him; a possible result of Kambosos potential deterioration since he became champion years ago.
George Kambosos Jr. also seemed to suffer from a proper lack of tactical direction, with his approach being effectively countered by Hitchins who seemed to have an answer for every one of Kambosos’ punch landed or thrown, culminating in the Australian being heavily outlanded and outworked.
By the 8th round, Kambosos had accrued plenty of visible damage as the latter portion of the fight ― starting with the 6th round ― saw Hitchins pressure the former world champion more and land more punches than earlier. In the last minute of the round, a left-handed body shot from Richardson Hitchins knocked down Kambosos who struggled to get up. Despite seeming in the midst of beating the referee’s count, Kambosos’ body language indicated he would have struggles to continue, prompting the referee to wave the match off and granting Hitchins the stoppage victory through technical knockout (TKO).
Hitchins completed the first defense of his IBF 140-pound title as a result of his victory over Kambosos. Despite the attendance of WBO champion Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 KO’s), Hitchins’ first callout was directed towards Devin Haney ― with notable profanity ― who recently debuted at welterweight (147 lbs) and holds no title.
In the press conference following the match, Hitchins did state interest in unifying against Lopez but this notably came after the adrenaline of his bout with Kambosos had waned down. Hitchins did express interest in moving up to the 147-pound division to face Haney in lieu of claims of the potential fight being something that would interest the public.
Undercard fights:
Competing in the co-main event, budding franchise Matchroom star, Cuban contender Andy Cruz (6-0, 3 KO’s), fought at lightweight (135 lbs) against Japanese contender Hironori Mishiro (17-2-1, 6 KO’s). Cruz impressed as he stopped the top 10-ranked IBF lightweight contender in the 5th round of their 12-round fight, winning the match by TKO after impressively dropping Mishiro twice in the 3rd round.
The victory now puts Cruz squarely in the position to challenge for the IBF world title which was recently vacated. With American lightweight Raymond Muratalla (23-0, 17 KO’s) currently in possession of the IBF interim title, the possibility remains for him to be elevated to actual world champion ― forespeaking of a potential future match-up between Muratalla and Cruz.
