The former IBF junior welterweight champion took to social media this week to celebrate a financial milestone that once seemed impossible for a kid growing up in Brooklyn.
They use to call me dirty they can’t call me dirty anymore I’m a millionaire. My neck is cold and my wrist is expensive. Hallelujah That kid who sold candy on the train stations made his dreams come true All I have to do now is keep going Thank God 🙏🏾
— Richardson Hitchins (@HeIsRichardson) 31 May 2026
No one can take that achievement away from him. Boxing is a brutal business and very few fighters reach the point where they can call themselves millionaires. Hitchins fought his way from the amateur ranks to a world title and recently secured a lucrative deal with Zuffa Boxing. The criticism is not about the money.
Hitchins became a millionaire before answering the biggest questions of his career. While fighters like Gary Antuanne Russell, Subriel Matias, Ernesto Mercado, Andy Hiraoka and Keyshawn Davis were discussed as the most dangerous threats at 140 pounds, Hitchins managed to navigate almost all of them. He maintained his undefeated record, won a world title and turned that shiny “0” into financial security.
That’s why his social media celebration went down differently with some fans.
Hitchins sees a kid who sold candy in train stations and became a millionaire through boxing. Critics see a fighter who reached the top of the sport’s business ladder without having the fights that would have settled the debates surrounding him. The irony is that his post proves that the strategy worked.
An undefeated champion is worth more than a fighter who takes losses by taking difficult risks. Hitchins protected his market value, stayed in position for title opportunities and came out of free agency with leverage. The reward was a major deal with Zuffa Boxing and a path to even bigger paydays.
What is interesting is that Hitchins signed with Zuffa at the same time as Edgar Berlanga. In many ways, the two careers tell a similar story. Berlanga became a millionaire before being forced into the deepest waters of the sport. He got big purses, noticed events, landed a Canelo Alvarez fight and then only started taking losses when he went up against elite opposition. Hitchins followed a similar business blueprint, albeit in a different division.
Supporters will argue that he owes no one an apology for that. Boxing is prize fighting. The goal is to maximize earnings while incurring the least possible damage. If a fighter can become a millionaire while remaining undefeated, most managers would call that a perfect outcome. The problem is that many fans still view boxing through a competitive lens rather than a financial one.
They wanted to see Hitchins against Matias. They wanted to see him against Russell. They wanted to see him against Mercado, Hiraoka and Keyshawn. Instead, the conversation has already moved to welterweight, where names like Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn offer far bigger purses than any of the dangerous contenders he leaves behind. These are the kinds of fights that can generate life-changing money, regardless of the result.
The question fans keep asking is whether Hitchins would have arrived at this point if he had been matched up the old fashioned way. If he had spent the last few years fighting the division’s most dangerous contenders instead of protecting his undefeated record, would he still be a millionaire today? No one can answer that.
Hitchins achieved millionaire status while several of the division’s most dangerous names remained off his record.
