What Russell still sees
“I feel like he’s grown more into his professional look now,” Russell said on DAZN’s Inside The Ring. “But some habits are hard to break. And I still see the same old habits he had with the amateurs.”
That single observation defines how Russell views the 140-pound division. While he acknowledges Hitchins’ evolution, he believes the foundation is permanent. In Russell’s mind, the openings remain. The muscle memory and instincts under pressure are essentially baked in.
While that psychological edge is powerful, it carries a distinct risk. The professional version of Hitchins has evolved into a different beast, an IBF champion who has mastered the 12 round marathon. He no longer relies on the angry bursts of the amateur circuit.
Instead, he wins through a disciplined control of distance and a level of patience that can frustrate even the most aggressive hunters. He has traded the headgear for a calculated, defensive style that frustrates the world’s best.
Russell, a seek-and-destroy specialist with 17 knockouts in 18 wins, relies on the opposite. He forces the trade. He hunts the break. If Russell is right, those amateur habits will resurface once the pressure reaches a boiling point. If he is wrong, he walks into a fight expecting a boy he used to know instead of the man standing there now.
While Russell has listed Dalton Smith as a priority because of the WBC belt, the Hitchins talk feels internal. It’s about the pride of that 4-0 mark. This is the confidence of a man who feels he already has the answer key.
Pride vs progress
Hiraoka is the immediate obstacle. As an undefeated, powerful southpaw, he deserves full attention, but Russell’s language suggests his mind is already drifting toward a unification rooted in years-old scorecards. He treats a dangerous world title defense like a pit stop on the way to a personal grudge match.
If Russell and Hitchins ever meet, the belts will be secondary. The real test is whether a fighter can truly overcome his past or whether growth has finally rewritten memory. It’s not just about professional rankings anymore; it’s about Russell trying to prove that the version of Hitchins he dominated years ago is the only one that really exists.
Russell sounds sure he already knows the answer. In boxing, that kind of certainty is either a fighter’s greatest weapon or his greatest vulnerability.
