RICHARDSON HITCHINS is but to put a foot unsuitable throughout his comparatively serene ascent in direction of the higher reaches of the super-lightweight division.
And there aren’t many anticipating that to change on Saturday (April 6) when he headlines a Matchroom USA invoice in Las Vegas for the primary time, with this conflict towards the little-known however seemingly harmful Argentinean Gustavo Daniel Lemos set for the Fountainebleau.
At 26 years previous, Hitchins is now 17-0, and, except for a knockdown by the hands of Tre’Sean Wiggins 5 years again, has emerged as the type of fighter who can field his means out of most conditions. He has simply seven stoppages amongst these wins, which says a lot about his type in a division stacked with huge punchers.
Lemos seems to be one of them and he arrives on the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas on a 10-fight knockout streak which dates again to 2019. All of them got here in his native Argentina and principally towards opposition exterior of Hitchins’ class, though he did drop and cease Lee Selby at light-weight in March 2022.
He has had just one battle since then, a first-round knockout of Javier Jose Clavero in December which means he has boxed for lower than three minutes in the previous 24 months. In the identical time-frame, Hitchins – quantity 9 ranked contender at 140lbs – has been concerned in 34 rounds of motion.
As effectively as that momentum, the New Yorker can be enhancing with each battle and has proven towards Jose Zepeda and John Bauza in his final two outings that he’s effectively outfitted to nullify his opponent regardless of their energy. He is seen as one of the main lights in Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom USA steady and this could be a chance to additional showcase what he’s all about. This one appears to be like like a Hitchins UD ready to occur.
Beforehand, undefeated super-middleweights Diego Pacheco and Shawn McCalman will conflict in a scheduled 12-rounder however it’s unlikely to go the gap. McCalman is 15-0 (7) however has by no means boxed something above an eight-rounder so this can be a noticeable step up towards harmful 23-year-old puncher Pacheco.
The California-born teenager has been tipped as the long run of the division following his surge by way of the early levels of his profession. He has not gone the gap for 3 years and may wrap this one up in the second half of the battle too.
Elsewhere on the cardboard, Birmingham’s Olympic gold medalist Galal Yafai makes his Las Vegas debut in an intriguing 10-round conflict with Agustin Mauro Gauto at flyweight. Yafai is 6-0 and is coming off the again of a mature 10-round victory over 22-2 Rocco Santomauro in December.
Argentina’s once-beaten Gauto is one other step up for Yafai, who will have to keep switched on early towards the 26-year-old puncher. He has the nous to accomplish that and win this one comfortably on the playing cards.
It can be an enormous night time for London-based Australian Skye Nicolson, who faces the 14-1 Sarah Mahfoud for the vacant WBC featherweight title. It was a belt which was held by Amanda Serrano till she determined to relinquish it when the WBC refused to sanction 12 three-minute spherical contests for ladies. Serrano, a giant advocate of that format, has since taken half in an historic 12-threes contest towards Danila Ramos in Orlando – with out the WBC title on the road.
Meanwhile, Nicolson has been stealthily climbing the WBC rankings and had made no secret of her need to face featherweight icon Serrano ultimately. She received the interim title by beating Sabrina Perez in September final 12 months and will now get the possibility to declare the complete belt with out even having to battle Serrano.
Mahfoud, nevertheless, is a former belt-holder on the weight and her solely defeat got here towards Serrano again in 2022. The Faroe Islands-born Dane represents a transparent step up for Nicolson however this can be a winnable battle for Nicolson, who ought to use her slick, hands-down type to safe a detailed factors determination and her first world title.
There can be a primary battle of the 12 months for rising super-featherweight expertise Marc Castro. The 24-year-old managed solely two fights in 2022, which moved him to 11-0 with eight fast. Now the person from Fresno will participate in the second 10-rounder of his profession when he faces robust Mexican Abraham Montoya.
The 29-year-old from Baja had a depressing run of three straight defeats however rebuilt with back-to-back wins final 12 months in July after which October. His reward for these wins was this crack at Castro and Montoya is aware of a victory right here would supply his decade-long profession with a major shot in the arm.
There are additionally a pair of six rounders early on in the cardboard, with two children given the chance on this newest Matchroom USA card. Notably, the thrilling New York puncher Harley Mederos will draw a line below 14 months of inactivity when he takes on Pedro Scharbaai at light-weight. Mederos received 17 nationwide titles and a youth world bronze as an novice and is presently 5-0 (4) as an expert. There had been excessive hopes for him in the paid ranks and he will bid to get issues going once more on Saturday night time.
Finally, Los Angeles super-flyweight Steven Navarro will kick off his skilled profession with a six-threes bout towards 4-3-2 Mexico-born New Yorker Jose Lopez.
The Verdict – Stacked present, albeit one with some huge favourites in the ‘home’ nook.
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