Teofimo Lopez says the money Richardson Hitchins asked for to fight him was the promoters and networks “I don’t want to give him” because there isn’t a large enough “fan base”. Hitchins (20-0, 8 KO) hasn’t built enough of a reputation to have the money he wants. Lopez did not say how much Hitchins is asking to face him.
Teofimo appeals to Hitchins’ demands
Lopez (22-1, 13 KO) claims that he would do everything in his power to “make noise” before the fight with Hitchins, but it is not up to him whether the match will happen.
Hitchins recently announced the winner of the Devin Haney vs. Brian Norman Jr. fight, saying he will move up to 147 pounds to face whoever comes out victorious. None of these players showed any interest in taking up his offer.
Names he avoided
The problem is that Richardson, 28, of Brooklyn, Fresh York, has only fought two notable opponents in his eight-year career, George Kambosos Jr. and Liam Paro. He has to take some risks and fight the top 140-pounders who were challenging him. These warriors:
- Gary Antuanne Russell
- Ernesto Mercado
- Subriel Mathias
- Keyshawn Davis
- Jamaine Ortiz
Some of these guys would have had an excellent chance of beating Hitchins. So it’s understandable why he didn’t pull the trigger on confronting either of them. But these are fighters who would raise Hitchins’ popularity if he were willing to take the risk. He won’t be able to get into the mega-millions through the back door by fighting the likes of Kambosos Jr.
IBF welterweight champion Hitchins has to fight 50-50 fights or fights in which he is weaker.
Promoters don’t bite on the price
“It’s a possibility. It’s just a fact that Hitchins wants X amount of money which the promoters in the networks are not yet willing to give him because he needs to build a fan base around himself. He has to build this noise,” Teofimo Lopez said 10-8 Podcast about what prevented him from fighting Richardson Hitchins.
Hitchins’ sheltered route revealed
- George Kambosos Jr.
- Liam Paro
- Gustavo Daniel Lemos
- Józef Zepeda
- Jan Bauza
- Yomar Alamo
These aren’t large enough names for Richardson Hitchins to build a immense fan base. Hitchins is trying to put the cart before the horse by looking for large fights while skipping the risky build-up matches he needs to play first to build his fan base. It didn’t take long for Richardson to get to the point where he was known enough to fight Teofimo, Haney and Norman Jr. if he were to fight top 140-pounders.
That is, if he was eliminated by them, which could happen. Mercado, Antuanne Russell, Keyshawn, Matias and Jamaine will be brutal fights for Hitchins.
“I can bring that star power to it based on my instincts. I’ll do everything I can in press conferences to get people involved. It’s come to this. It’s not a matter of, ‘I want to fight you.’ – Okay, let’s fight. Let’s blow it up. Let’s show the world. Now everyone’s interests are more vital,” Teofimo said.
Tom Galm has been vigorous on the global boxing scene since 2014, specializing in heavyweight analysis, business trends and fighter psychology.