Highlights: Richardson Hitchins takes IBF belt from Liam Paro by split decision

Richardson Hitchins is the new IBF 140 lbs. champion after a split decision win over Liam Paro

Richardson Hitchins dominated the second half of his DAZN main event in Puerto Rico against Liam Paro, taking the IBF 140 lbs. title by a split decision that should have been unanimous.

To say that expectations were low is putting it mildly, but this wound up a shockingly watchable affair. Big credit for that goes to referee Janny Guzman, who was quick and firm in taking control of the fight. Hitchins (19-0, 7 KO) got a warning for shenanigans in the 1st round and another in the 4th for hitting with his elbow. Dual warnings were issued for hitting behind the head in the 2nd, and it was made clear from the start that the clinch and foul worst case scenario wouldn’t get past referee Guzman.

Paro (25-1, 15 KO) had an excellent start, stifling the reach and jab of Hitchins for the first four rounds, after which the Hitchins corner warned their man he could be down 4-0. A very lively 5th round left Hitchins bleeding from the mouth and Paro bleeding from the nose, and the activity and pace seemed to favor Paro at the halfway point.

That was the beginning of the end of Paro’s championship reign, as Hitchins found his timing in the 7th, imposing his style on the fight in a way he couldn’t in the first half. Paro had occasional flashes, but Hitchins worked his jab brilliantly without the usual grabbing and holding that muck up most of his fights.

Paro took a stern second warning for hitting behind the head after Hitchins sold the contact with a performance worthy of Academy Award consideration, but that was the only flash of controversy in a very conventional, clean match. I had it unofficially 115-113 for Hitchins, narrower than the two official judges that decided it for him by 116-112 scores. Judge Nelson Vazquez had the dissenting score, 117-111 for Paro, which is as baffling as it is silly.

Afterwards, a jubilant Hitchins called for a unification with Teofimo Lopez in Brooklyn, while a sedate Paro praised Hitchins for his performance.

Henry Lebron UD-10 Christopher Diaz

Fun show in the chief support, with big shifts in momentum and plenty of action. Lebron (20-0, 10 KO) started brilliantly, controlling the action with good counter hooks in the early rounds. Diaz (29-5, 19 KO) found success in the 3rd and 4th, then Lebron figured some things out and was able to slip and time counters again, staking a claim on the 5th and 6th.

It was back and forth like that until Diaz had a big finish to the 6th that carried over to a very active 7th. A clash of heads at the end of the 8th opened up a leaky cut on Lebron’s forehead, and Diaz kept laying it on him through the final bell.

This was the rare fight where scores could swing dramatically depending on whether you favored the counters and movement of Lebron, or the straight ahead aggression of Diaz. Anything from 7-3 Lebron to 8-2 Diaz was a viable score on my unofficial card, which came in at 96-94 for Diaz. The judges liked Lebron’s work more, though, giving him the unanimous decision of official scores of 97-93, 97-93, and 96-94.

Yankiel Rivera TKO-4 Angel Gonzalez

Excellent performance from Rivera (7-0, 3 KO), who separated himself at the end of the first two rounds and then really started unloading after that. Gonzalez (14-1, 7 KO) went down hard midway through the 3rd on a wicked right hook, but got up and fought through it to survive the round. He couldn’t repeat the feat after going down again on a body shot early in the 4th, then taking another knockdown that he tried to sell as being dragged or pushed over. Referee Luis Pabon didn’t like what he saw during the count and waved things off to give Rivera just the third finish of his pro career.

Agustin Ezequiel Quintana SD-10 Marc Castro

Something of a surprise as Castro (13-1, 8 KO) suffers his first pro defeat. Not sure I saw seven rounds for Quintana (21-2-1, 13 KO) the way one judge did, but he did have a great 8th, rocking Castro several times. That put the fight in a new, high-action gear that carried through to the end. Official scores were 97-93 and 96-94 for Quintana, with the dissenting judge scoring it 96-94 for Castro.

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