Three Potential Next Opponents For Richardson Hitchins

Richardson Hitchins (17-0, 7 KOs) won his second fight of the year with a unanimous decision over Jose Zepeda (37-4, 28 KOs, 2 NCs) on September 23. Zepeda struggled to land on his opponent throughout the bout, allowing Hitchins to jab and outbox him en route to victory. With the win, Hitchins continues his rise up the super lightweight rankings. Currently fourth in the WBO rankings and seventh with the IBF, it may not be long before he secures a world title shot.

As is customary following any fight, attention turns towards potential future opponents. In a post-fight interview, Hitchins spoke about fighting once more this year. Big Fight Weekend takes a look at three possible opponents for his next bout.

Three potential opponents for Richardson Hitchins

Nestor Bravo

Nestor Bravo (22-0, 15 KOs, 1 NC) is also in the top ten of the WBO at seventh place and could be an opponent to end the year. He headlined a Most Valuable Prospects card on August 18. The card saw Bravo face Will Madera whom he outboxed over ten rounds to win a unanimous decision. Given Bravo’s last fight was on DAZN and that Hitchins also fights on the same platform, getting both to face each other should not be a difficult task.

Montana Love

Montana Love (18-1-1, 9 KOs) was to face Hitchins on July 15 in Detroit. The proposed fight did not take place as Love suffered an injury during training camp. Since both fighters are with Matchroom Boxing, rescheduling the bout would not be difficult. When the clash was initially called off, Boxing Scene reported that Hitchins-Love would eventually be rescheduled. Now that Hitchins has faced Zepeda, Matchroom Boxing may revisit the fight.

Liam Paro

Liam Paro (23-0, 14 KOs) is also aligned with Matchroom Boxing which makes this an easy to make fight. Paro initially was going to face Regis Prograis for the WBC super lightweight title but had to withdraw from the bout due to injury. With Prograis reportedly facing Devin Haney in December, Paro’s focus may now shift to other opponents such as Hitchins.

All three prospective bouts would serve as a means of staying active as well solidifying Hitchins’ position within the sanctioning bodies. They are also relatively easy fights to make as all fighters are with Matchroom Boxing or fight on DAZN. Hitchins could then look towards challenging for the WBO title sometime down the line.