Richardson Hitchins held his career best performance Saturday night at the theater in Madison Square Garden, filming with a wilted body in the eighth round, stopping George Kambosos Jr to retain the IBF’s light secondary middleweight title.
On his first defense of the 140-pound belt, he controlled a card in his hometown (20-0, 8 KOS) in each round, and then placed Cambossus in the middle with a sharp left hook. The Australian stood up before 10, but referee Michael Griffin waved the fight as Kambosos endured the pain in a clear and painful way and could not continue.
Hitchens later said: “I kept telling me the boxing world that they should listen.” “I told his father that if you love your son, you will stop fighting. He is strong and a real competitor, but I’m just a better person tonight.”
The 26-year-old Hitchins promised punishment performances after a pungent accumulation, including canceled standoffs, bold predictions and tensions between the camps. After jumping into the ring in the roaring crowd, the natives of Brooklyn’s Crown Heights dominated from the start and won every minute until the shutdown.
“I knew I had to go to some unsafe places to get some good pictures,” Hitchens said. “I put myself on the way to hurt, but I knew I had a good defense. He grabbed me with a few good shots, but they didn’t hurt me. So I just went and killed me.”
Compubox punch statistics provide a quantitative context for one-way traffic. Hitchins was linked to 205 of 398 punches (52%), while Kambosos hit only 57 of 384 shots (15%).
It was a frustrating defeat and perhaps an amazing game for Cambossos (22-4, 10 KOS), who turned 32 on Saturday. Sydneysider has been bidding to add Jeff Fenech and Bob Fitzsimmons to the Australian boxer shortlist to win world championships in multiple weight classes. Instead, he fell on six outings and lost for the fourth time.
“Man, I really believe in myself, but there is no time,” Cambossus said. “He was so good for me tonight. He hit me with his beautiful body. I still got up before I was 10, but the referee had to do his job.”
Shockwave registered with this sport His frustration victory over Teófimo López In the same room, Kambosos suffered losses from punishment for Devin Haney (twice), Vasiliy Lomachenko and now Hitchins. Saturday’s results not only ended his hopes for a second World Championship, but could mark the final chapter of his career. “Now, I’m going to go to my son’s squad coach,” Cambossus said.
Meanwhile, Hitchins continues to rise at 140 pounds. He now beats world-class enemies for the second time in a row after beating Australia’s IBF strap, and will be the champion of free agents for the unification battle.
Lopez is a possible opponent who picks up Saturday’s cards from the circus and climbs over the ropes to jo of the post-war strategy. But Hitchins, who next, called Haney with a vibrant roar, seemed clear in his preferences, which has since been promoted to the 140-pound division.
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