Richardson Hitchins needs to beat IBF light welterweight champion Liam Paro tonight to bring excitement and charisma to the 140lb division.
Shakur-esque, but Better
Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) has a Shakur-like fighting style but with much more power, aggression and less running. He’s what the light welterweight division needs to bring back some entertainment value that was missing from Ryan Garcia’s one-year layoff. This guy, Hitchins, is pure gold and has the ability to revive that dead part.
Guys like Paro have nothing interesting about their fighting style and certainly not their personality. Paro lacks the ability to sell matches to international fans and lacks the crowd pleasing style that Hitchins possesses.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has set up Paro, wanting to match him with George Kambosos Jr. if he wins. What a waste of time. That’s what fans should expect if Paro finds a way to win tonight against Hitchins.
Hearn is backing the wrong horse by focusing more on Paro at the expense of the real gem, Hitchins. It’s a wonder a sleazy promoter like Hearn can’t see the superstar potential in Hitchins because he should be talking about him night and day. In his recent fights, he has outlasted Gustavo Lemos, Jose Zepeda and John Bauza.
The total package
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Hitchins has the talent and charisma to be a superstar. He just needs to figure out how to get past Paro tonight so he can take over the IBF throne and set up some interesting fights against the other champions.
Hopefully there is a good referee working tonight who can control Paro’s excessive holding, pushing and movement. Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) will likely use those tactics to win, and they’ve been effective so far.
Paro-Hitchins will headline at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The vent will appear live on DAZN.
“Richardson Hitchins is in the same mold as Shakur,” Eddie Hearn told Matchroom Boxing, talking about tonight’s fight between IBF light middleweight champion Liam Paro and Richardson Hitchins.
“That’s what we like about boxing. There are some big things for both guys, and it’s all or nothing.”
