Hitchins MUST win tonight – the future of the 140s depends on it

Richardson Hitchins needs to win tonight against IBF light welterweight champion Liam Paro to bring excitement and charisma to the 140-pound division.

Shakur style, but better

Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) has the Shakur-style fighting style but with a lot more power, aggression and less running. It’s what the light welterweight division needs to bring back some entertainment value that has been missing since Ryan Garcia’s one-year suspension. This guy, Hitchins, is pure gold and has the potential to revive this dead division.

Guys like Paro have nothing interesting about their fighting style and certainly nothing interesting about their personality either. Paro lacks the ability to sell fights to international fans and lacks the crowd-pleasing style that Hitchins possesses.

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has boosted Paro, ranting that he wants to pair him with George Kambosos Jr. if he wins. What a waste of time. This is what fans should expect if Paro finds a way to win tonight against Hitchins.

Hearn is backing the wrong horse by focusing more on Paro at the expense of the real gem, Hitchins. It’s strange that an astute promoter like Hearn can’t see Hitchins’ superstar potential because he should be talking about him day and night. In his last fights, he knocked out Gustavo Lemos, Jose Zepeda and John Bauza.

The total package

Hitchins, a native of Brooklyn, New York, has the talent and charisma to be a superstar. He just needs to figure out how to get past Paro tonight so he can take the IBF throne and put on some interesting fights against the other champions.

Hopefully there is a good referee tonight who can control Paro’s excessive holding, pushing and moving. Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) will likely use these tactics to win, and so far they have been effective.

Paro-Hitchins will headline the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The outburst will be broadcast live on DAZN.

“Richardson Hitchins is in the same mold as Shiakur,” Eddie Hearn told Matchroom Boxing, speaking about tonight’s fight between IBF light welterweight champion Liam Paro and Richardson Hitchins.

“This is what we like in boxing. There are some great things for both guys, and it’s all or nothing.