Subriel Matias congratulated Richardson Hitchins on Saturday night for his victory over IBF light welterweight champion Liam Paro, letting him know he would be seeing him soon. Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) dethroned Paro (25-1, 15 KOs), winning a 12-round split decision at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
(Credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
If the fight happens, it would be a difficult style for Hitchins because Matias wouldn’t be afraid to pressure the way Paro was. He would walk Richardson down as Gustavo Lemos did but land harder shots.
Matias (22-2, 21 KOs) is counting on Hitchins choosing to defend his newly won IBF belt against him, which could happen if he fails to get a bite from any of the big names that his promoter Eddie Hearn said he wants to attempt to match him against next. These are the four that Hearn rattled off that he wants for Hitchins:
- Teofimo Lopez
- Devin Haney
- Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela
- Jack Catterall
If Hearn can’t get any of those four to agree to face Hitchins, Matias will likely be the guy he lines him up against next. He’s ranked #5 IBF, below Jack Catterall and Arnold Barboza Jr. Matias (21-2, 21 KOs) was beaten by Paro by a 12-round unanimous decision last summer on June 15th.
“See You Soon”
Richardson Hitchins would move up to 147 if this fight ever gets ordered. #Boxing pic.twitter.com/8XMqyoorqh
— Zain (@ZainBoxing) December 8, 2024
Hearn didn’t mention the former IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias as a possible next opponent for Hitchins, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t attempt to make this fight next. The four guys that Hearn did mention are not going to be excited about fighting him because his style is bad for each of them.
“When I got in the ring after, some of Liam’s team came up to me and said, ‘Do you think we might have nicked a draw from the last?’ Honestly, no. I got it 8-4. 7-5 if you want to be really generous, but no,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV, talking about Richardson Hitchins’ win over Liam Paro last Saturday night.
“When he read out 117-111, I’m thinking, ‘Don’t tell me someone is giving it to Liam Paro.’ 117-111, you’re scoring it 9-3 to Liam Paro. It’s unbelievable. I said to Liam was the problem for him was between five and ten, probably eleven, they were all clear Richardson Hitchins rounds.
“Those rounds, he basically banked six rounds there guaranteed. You got to give him maybe 12. Maybe that went to Liam, but for me, it was 8-4 or 7-5. The right man won. It was a hell of a performance.
It’s a good thing Hitchins wasn’t robbed last Saturday night because that would have tainted the evening. The judge scored it 117-111 for Paro, who had to have been focusing on the small things that he was doing and ignoring all the clean right hands that Hitchins was hitting him with from round five on.
Next In Line?
“He fights Teofimo Lopez for Brooklyn. It’s a unification fight. The build-up would be epic. This is a great fight,” said Hearn when asked who Hitchins fights next. That’s what he does next because I think a fighter of Richardson’s quality should be fighting those guys. [Jose ‘Rayo’] Valenzuela. Obviously, we’ve got [Jack] Catterall. He’s [Teofimo] talking about moving to 147. Unify before you go,” said Hearn.
Hearn can get one of those guys to agree to fight Hitchins, but it’s likely going to require that His Excellency Turki Alalshikh chooses to stage the fight in Riyadh. Hitchins doesn’t have the popularity to attract the names that he and Hearn would like him to fight. It would require these fighters to be paid well to agree to fight Hitchins because of the probability that they’ll lose.
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