Richardson Hitchins Defeats Liam Paro, Targets Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney

Promoter Eddie Hearn named Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez, and Devin Haney as targets for newly crowned IBF light welterweight champion Richardson Hitchins (20-0, 7 KOs) to fight next following his 12-round split decision victory over undefeated champion Liam Paro (25-1, 15 KOs) last Saturday night at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Paro fought in a Madrimov-esque style, using feints and upper body movement to try to trick Hitchins. This style was effective for the first four rounds, but after Hitchins decoded it, it became one-sided from the fifth on.

Calling Out The Stars

The chances of Ryan, Teofimo, and Haney agreeing to fight Hitchins are slim, and none. Those guys are NOT going to want to fight a talent like Hitchins and get outboxed in the same way that he did against Paro. That’s not realistic.

Hitchins easily outboxed Paro, taking over a close fight through four and dominating the final eight rounds. Hear said after the fight that he saw it as an 8-4 or 7-5 victory for Hitchins.

Scores

116-112: Hitchins
117-111: Paro
116-112: Hitchins

Unless His Excellency Turki Alalshikh gets involved to lure Haney, Teofimo, or Ryan to fight Hitchins, he’s going to have to be satisfied with defending his IBF 140-lb title against a lesser name in the division because those guys are not going to agree to fight him.

Paro vs. Hitchins Punch Stats

– Richardson Hitchins: 15 of 408 punches for a 28% connect rate.
– Liam Paro: 113 of 490 for 23%

“Yeah, why not? I don’t think you can base your career around Ryan Garcia at the moment, but it’s a big fight, he’s a big name, and he’s a great fighter,” said Eddie Hearn to the media following Richardson Hitchins’ victory over Liam Paro last Saturday night.

“So, Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez, and Devin Haney,” Hearn continued about fighters he’d like to face Hitchins next. “There’s some guys at 135 that will move up eventually. You talk about Liam potentially fighting [George] Kambosos. Why not Richardson against Kambosos? They’ve had their beef as well. Jack Catterall. We have so many guys [at Matchroom that can fight Hitchins]. Subriel Matias, yeah, for sure.”

Of the names Hearn mentioned above, former IBF champion Subriel Matias, the boogeyman of the 140-lb division, is the most likely one that he can get for Hitchins. He won’t want to sacrifice British fighter Jack Catterall because he’s angling him to challenge WBO champion Teofimo Lopez for his belt. Catterall would be food for Hitchins.

Tactical Battle

“I think he was one of the most trickiest guys I’ve fought. The bouncing and the European style” said Hitchins about Paro. “When I got in the ring, I was like, ‘Oh, s***. This is like being overseas again.’ I’m glad I got the amateur experience to see guys like that.

“So, I kind of knew things to do. I was kind of like [Israil] Madrimov and Terence Crawford with the bouncing and the feinting. It was a lot of feinting and a lot of subtle things he was doing in there. So, I think he was one of the most trickiest guys I fought,” said Hitchins about Paro.

It looked like Paro had been studying former WBA 154-lb champion Israil Madrimov’s style and used that approach for his fight against Hitchins. Paro would have had more success if he had utilized the Gustavo Lemos method of all-out attacks. It’s strange that Paro didn’t follow Lemos’s blueprint and instead tried to outbox Hitchins. Using that approach, he gave away any chances of winning.

Interestingly, Hearn didn’t appear overly happy after the fight, which suggests that he’d been hoping that Paro would win. In the lead-up to last Saturday’s Paro-Hitchins fight, Hearn talked about potentially matching Paro against Kambosos in a big contest in Australia. That fight is no longer possible after last night.