Richardson Hitchins Comes Out on Top Against Gustavo Lemos

Richardson Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs) needed everything he had to come out on top against Gustavo Lemos (29-1, 19 KOs).

While one judge had it a shocking 117-111, the other two saw it 115-113 for the American. With the win, he is now in a mandatory position to challenge for the IBF super lightweight title currently held by Subriel Matías. Both Hitchins and Matías have promotional deals with Matchroom Boxing.

Hitchins-Lemos headlined a Matchroom Boxing card at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. DAZN were the worldwide broadcaster for this event.

Richardson Hitchins comes out on top against Gustavo Lemos

Richardson Hitchins vs. Gustavo Lemos Recap

Lemos bobbed and weaved as he pressed forward. Hitchins used his jab and footwork to stay away from the Argentinian. Towards the end of round one, however, he was hit by a right hand that stunned him. In the early rounds, Hitchins found himself struggling with the aggressiveness of Lemos.

As the fight reached the middle rounds, Hitchins relied on holding to prevent his opponent from landing his swinging shots. The jab also helped him keep Lemos at bay. Despite this, he kept getting hit with clean, hard shots throughout the bout. Hitchins was stunned again in the eighth and was on shaky legs for most of the round.

Throughout the entirety of the fight, Lemos was the aggressor, throwing non-stop. Many of his punches were swinging power shots. A lot of the success Hitchins had was with his jab, a punch he landed significantly more than Lemos. In the end, the judges appeared to favour Hitchins’ approach, resulting in him getting the unanimous decision win.

War in the 10th! 🤯🤯#HitchinsLemos | @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/NmfVZWO6Y9

— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) April 7, 2024

Post-Fight Interview

“I felt like I won the fight,” said Hitchins. “Unanimously. It was a close fight. I made it close some rounds, but I gave him right hands and I stood there and traded with him because my corner kept telling me the fight is close. But I felt like I was outboxing, landing cleaner shots, and boxing smart. But he was tough, undefeated, 29-0, in his prime, and he come over here to win. He came in shape. He came over to my country to win. I felt like I won, but, he in my country so they gonna try to say he got robbed or whatever. It’s cool. Good fight though.”

Diego Pacheco Has Tougher Than Expected Outing

Diego Pacheco (21-0, 17 KOs) had a tougher-than-expected bout in his unanimous decision victory against Shawn McCalman (15-1, 7 KOs).

Both men began the fight cautiously, staying an arm’s length away from each other. McCalman was content being on the backfoot while his opponent slowly walked towards him. In the first half of the fight, Pacheco found himself struggling to land. Rather than try to work his way inside, he stayed on the outside. While McCalman himself was also not throwing as much, he was proving to be a lot better than anticipated in the buildup to this clash.

McCalman grew visibly tired as the fight went on, resorting to holding more and more. Pacheco was able to take advantage of this, landing more punches on the inside and winning rounds on the back of this. McCalman was warned on several occasions for use of the shoulder but never had any points deducted. In the end, Pacheco was able to outland his opponent and get the decision. Scores were 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94.

Undercard Results

Galal Yafai (7-0, 5 KOs) earned a technical knockout win against Agustin Gauto (21-2, 15 KOs). The time of stoppage for this 10-round flyweight bout was 2:40 of the eighth. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. stepped in to end proceedings with Gauto still standing.

Earlier in the night, Skye Nicolson became the latest featherweight world champion. Be sure to check our recap of Nicolson’s title win and the results of other undercard bouts at Big Fight Weekend.