Richardson Hitchins In The Mix With Haney Shakur Teofimo

Back With Matchroom, but still unproven

Hearn wants to put IBF light welterweight champion Hitchins in some big fights in 2026. He named these fighters: Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, Shakur Stevenson, Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero, and Lewis Crocker.

For Brooklyn, New York native Hitchins to be taken seriously as an opponent for most of those fighters, he needs to get some wins over credible top-rated fighters.

When paydays start driving the route

So far, he hasn’t beaten anyone who fits that description. He turned his nose up at quality guys, like Gary Antuanne Russell, Subriel Matias and Ernesto Mercado, to name a few. He is more focused on getting the bigger paydays.

On January 31, 2026, Hitchins was in negotiations for a fight against Keyshawn Davis for the undercard of Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson. The fight did not take place due to financial reasons. Hitchins reportedly asked for $2.5 million, and Keyshawn wanted $2 million.

“Now we’ve just started talking to Keith (Connolly) and Hitchins again. I think we can work together. I think he’s a tremendous young fighter,” promoter Eddie Hearn said. KGTV about Richardson Hitchins.

“Even though we did a lot for him, he was flawless. He was obviously excellent against Kambosos last time, and I think he’s a guy who can be in the mix when you’re talking about Teofimo, Shakur and Haney. You’ve got (Lewis) Crocker,” Hearn said. “You have (Rolando Rolly) Romero.

The Kambosos win in the right context

Hitchins is coming off an eighth-round knockout win over George Kambosos Jr. on June 14, 2025.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good enough W to convince the big names to agree to fight him. He has to beat some top talents, and Kambosos is widely considered a fighter on the decline.

“You’ve got all these guys at 140 and 147 because I think he’ll move up to 147 at some point. But he’s a tremendous fighter,” Hearn said of Hitchins.

The fights that would change the conversation

We’ll see if Hearn can produce the big names for Hitchins to fight in 2026. It will help if he takes on some strong contenders, like Frank Martin and Mercado, to build his name. Fans want to see Richardson prove himself against the best, and he hasn’t.