According to Dan Rafael, if no agreement is reached, the sanctioning body will move to wallet. That assignment followed Hitchins pulling out on fight day after reportedly vomiting several times that morning.
The immediate casualty is Duarte. He finished camp, made weight and lost the event hours before the walkout. He is no longer positioned as the next man in line, and even if Hitchins defeats Delgado, there is no guarantee that Duarte will circle back into the fight.
This is what mandatory enforcement does. It restores order on paper, even as it disrupts plans in the ring.
For Hitchins, the mandate reinforces a pattern that has followed him. Ahead of his 2024 fight with Gustavo Lemos, he struggled on the scales and looked stretched. Questions about how long he can safely make 140 have lingered ever since. Sickness or not, last weekend adds to that file.
At junior welterweight, he enjoys real physical advantages. He is tall, strong in the clinch, comfortable control distance behind the jab, and disciplined with ring positioning over twelve rounds. His style relies on managing pace and forcing opponents to reach. At welterweight, those margins get narrower. The bodies are bigger. The clinch work is evened out. The small edges are shrinking.
That calculation kept him at 140.
Delgado is steady, patient and disciplined with his punch selection. A mandatory requires a clean camp and a clean cut. There is no room for drama after a canceled fight.
Hitchins has the tools to remain champion. He boxes with control and rarely gives away rounds cheaply. The question now is physical sustainability. If the scale becomes a gamble, every defense keeps risk before the opening exchange.
Negotiations last for 30 days. If they fail, the belt goes to the purse bid.
Until then, the division is waiting for contracts instead of combinations.
