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Skip Matias and Russell in favor of Haney-Norman

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Image: Hitchins’ Shortcut to Glory: No Matias, No Russell — Just Haney or Norman Jr. for the Belt

Richardson Hitchins reiterated today that he is willing to move up to 147 pounds to fight the winner of the November 22 fight between WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. and Devin Haney.

The simplest possible route

Brooklyn-based Hitchins (20-0, 8 KO) wants a title shot in his first fight at 147, rather than winning it by fighting top contenders waiting for the WBO rankings. It’s the other way around attempts to win the title, but it may not work out given that Hitchins is not popular with casual fans. It’s a formula. Defeat a supple opponent, then call upon warriors who are above your pay grade and have earned their way.

No Matias and no Russell

Richardson shows no desire to fight top contenders or champions at 140 to gain popularity. Instead of Richardson fighting top 140-pounders like Gary Antuanne Russell and Subriel Matias, he’s content to fight George Kambosos Jr.

I can promise it will be a solid opponent, but me I can’t promise you I won’t make it look like a cupcake. Richardson Hitchins said Ring Magazine about his next fight. “After the win over Kambosos, I called up players like Devin Haney. I called up Teofimo Lopez.”

The only two notable contenders in the top 15 of the IBF rankings are Jamaine Ortiz and Ernesto Mercado. It is highly unlikely that Hitchins will fight either of these two as they would have an excellent chance of making him a cupcake.

Hitchins’ manager Keith Connolly is unlikely to choose Jamaine or Tito Mercado as his next opponent, as they could take away his bargaining chip by dethroning him as the IBF 140-pound champion. We saw how much trouble Hitchins had against Gustavo Lemos on April 6, 2024, winning a questionable 12-round unanimous decision.

Many boxing fans believed that Lemos deserved to win this fight. To say Hitchins has been exposed is an understatement. The judges gave him the decision on scores of 117-111, 115-113 and 115-113. He didn’t look like a winner. The fight showed that Hitchins was susceptible to pressure. He’s so ugly Haney and Shakur style. The kryptonite of this style is pure pressure.

Title Ambition

“I’m willing to move up to 147 pounds and challenge some of the champions there,” Hitchins said. “At 140, do some unifications. It’s about getting the biggest fights for me. Now I’m the champion. I’m in great shape. It’s time for me to prove to the world who Richardson Hitchins is.”

If Hitchins wants to fight top fighters at 140 pounds, he should start doing so because top belt holders have repeatedly called him out, refusing to agree to fight any of them. These warriors called upon Hitchins:

  • Gary Antuanne Russell
  • Subriel Matias
  • Albert Puello
  • Keyshawn Davis
  • Ernesto Mercado

“For my first fight, I’m willing to go down to 147 pounds and challenge the winner Devin Haney and Brian Norman for the WBO world championship. After the great win over Kambosos, I felt it was only fair to say I was a free agent and see what the best offers were for me,” Hitchins said.

What Hitchins should do if he wants to fight for the world welterweight title is to first relinquish his IBF 140-pound title. Then level up and fight your way through these challengers for a chance at the title:

  • Shakhram Giasov
  • Karen Chukhadjian
  • Eimantas Stanionis
  • Raul Curiel

A fan base that doesn’t exist

Earlier this week, Teofimo Lopez rejected the idea of ​​fighting Hitchins, claiming that television networks and promoters were not willing to pay him the money he was asking for due to a lack of fans. Lopez says to 10-8 Podcast that Hitchins wants “X amount of money that the promoters at the networks are not willing to give him yet because he needs to build a fan base around himself.”

https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/787807

Last update: 10/30/2025

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Boxing

Davies vs Collins & Heaney vs Warburton II Results: Full Fight Recap

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"Davies vs Collins & Heaney vs Warburton II Results: Full Fight Recap"

World Boxing News provides results and updates as Liam Davies faces Nathaniel Collins in the main event at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham.

Davies and Collins collide over 12 rounds for the EBU European featherweight title at the top of the Queensberry Promotions card.

Luke McCormack faces Kay Prospere for the vacant British super lightweight title, while Bradley Goldsmith takes on Amir Abubaker for the IBF International middleweight title.

WBN provides results and updates from every bout as they happen.


Results

All times are local BST.

23:11

Gerome Warburton defeated Nathan Heaney for the second time running as the middleweight put an exclamation mark on his first victory.

Heaney walks away from the sport having been an entertainer through a long carer, without reaching the heights of a world title.

22:04

Liam Davies improved to 19-1 after Nathaniel Collins retired at the end of the seventh round due to a cut over his right eye. Collins had also been dropped in the opening round as Davies successfully defended the European featherweight title.

21:22

Bradley Goldsmith improved to 17-1 with a seventh-round stoppage of Amir Abubaker to retain his IBF International middleweight title. Abubaker went down in the fourth and three times in the seventh before the finish at 2:42.

20:10

Lewis Richardson improved to 3-0 with a shutout six-round points victory over Ivan Trofimovich, earning a 60-54 decision.

19:56

Luke McCormack moved to 6-0 and claimed the vacant British super lightweight title with a tenth-round knockout of Kay Prospere, who was counted out after a right uppercut at 1:28.

18:55

Michael Hussain moved to 5-0 with a four-round points victory over Nabil Ahmed, earning a 39-38 decision.

18:11

Nelson Birchall moved to 12-0 with a third-round stoppage of Lewis Morris, who went down before the finish came at 1:12. Lasha Guruli also remained unbeaten at 5-0 after edging Hughie Wilson 77-75 over eight rounds.

17:22

Early action saw John Tom Varey and Reese Lynch claim four-round victories to move to 3-0 and 5-0 respectively.


TV Coverage

DAZN provides full worldwide coverage.

Follow WBN’s live boxing coverage throughout the event.


About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

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Boxing

Janibek Alimkhanuly Shifts Perspective on Hamzah Sheeraz: A New Dynamic in Boxing

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"Janibek Alimkhanuly Shifts Perspective on Hamzah Sheeraz: A New Dynamic in Boxing"

Janibek Alimkhanuly spent months trying to get Hamzah Sheeraz into the ring. Now that Sheeraz has vacated his WBO super middleweight title, Janibek is asking fans to stop saying the former champion ran from him. That is generous. It also leaves Janibek with less to say about a fight he wanted badly.

Janibek’s tone has changed since the purse bid. He was eager to fight, said money was not his priority, and publicly pushed Sheeraz to accept. Queensberry then bid $1,001,809 to stage the ordered defense, beating Top Rank’s $820,000 offer. Sheeraz’s 75 percent share would have been roughly $751,000. Days later, he gave up the belt.

That sequence deserves a closer look. Queensberry put a serious number on the fight, so the bid itself cannot be dismissed as proof that nobody valued it. But winning the right to promote a title defense means little to fans when the champion vacates before it happens.

Sheeraz has objected to Janibek receiving a mandatory shot after his failed drug test. He is entitled to explain that position. Fans are equally entitled to ask why the issue reached a purse bid before he surrendered the title. Janibek’s post supplies no answer.

Perhaps Janibek sees no benefit in branding Sheeraz a coward. Doing so would also make the opponent he chased sound less valuable. Calling Sheeraz a great fighter preserves the idea that this was an important contest, even after the belt and the fight slipped away.

The respect between them may be sincere. Janibek still gets no Sheeraz fight, and Sheeraz no longer has to defend his title against Janibek. A friendly photo does not change either result.

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Boxing247.com is an independent boxing news publication covering the sport since 2001. It provides original reporting, fight analysis, schedules, results, and informed coverage of major fighters and events worldwide, backed by more than 25 years of professional boxing journalism.

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Virginia Confirms Decision to Erase Prichard Colón Loss from Records

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Virginia Confirms Decision to Erase Prichard Colón Loss from Records

Virginia has given World Boxing News its final answer on whether Prichard Colón’s last professional defeat can still be challenged, bringing an end to WBN’s long fight to have the result annulled and removed from his record.

WBN has pursued the possibility of changing the controversial disqualification defeat to Terrel Williams, with those efforts continuing following Colón’s death at age 33.

Virginia’s Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation previously explained that a decision can only be overturned if there is proven collusion, a scorecard error, or a regulatory violation that affected the result.

WBN pressed Eric Beidel, Communications & Digital Media Manager for the Department of Professional & Occupational Regulation, on whether any avenue remained to challenge the decision.

“And on that final question … as mentioned before, a decision can only be overturned if there is proven collusion, a scorecard error, or a regulatory violation that affected the results,” Beidel graciously responded after providing WBN with transparent answers throughout the investigation.

“In addition, a complaint about a regulatory violation must be filed within three years of the alleged violation.”

The Colón-Williams fight took place on October 17, 2015, meaning that deadline expired years ago.

Virginia Closes Appeal Route

Virginia’s response also addressed whether the result could instead be challenged through an appeal.

“The Administrative Process Act (APA) does create appeal rights to case decisions, but because DPOR never received a complaint in this instance, there was no case or decision that could be appealed under the APA.”

The deadline for filing a complaint about a regulatory violation has expired, while the absence of an original complaint means there is no case decision available to appeal under the APA.

For WBN, Virginia’s response ends a long fight to have the defeat annulled and removed from Colón’s professional record.

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WBN’s Fight for Prichard Colón

It is no secret that WBN and Prichard were close before the most tragic night of his career ended all contact and left us on the outside for the years leading up to his death.

That never stopped WBN from reporting on Prichard, campaigning for change and hoping lessons from what happened to him could help prevent another fighter and family from enduring the same tragedy.

Virginia’s final response may end WBN’s attempts to have the result changed, but it does not end our commitment to Prichard.

Prichard Colón will not be forgotten.

WBN will continue to keep his name alive whenever and wherever possible with the WBN Boxer Pageand push to ensure his fight for life and everything that happened in its aftermath are never allowed to simply disappear from boxing’s memory.

This investigation ends here, but Prichard’s story does not.


About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

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