- Richardson Hitchins has agreed to face Keyshawn Davis on the December 11 Fury-Joshua card in Cardiff, relocated from an original Madison Square Garden plan
- Talk of adding a Manny Pacquiao vs Shakur Stevenson fight to the same bill threatens to push Hitchins-Davis down the running order
- Hitchins, the former IBF light welterweight champion, says billing does not bother him — as long as the purse matches what he was originally offered
From Madison Square Garden To A Cardiff Card
Right then. Richardson Hitchins had this fight sorted in his head months ago. He agreed terms to face Keyshawn Davis at Madison Square Garden, shook hands on a number, and got on with camp. Then the whole card got picked up and moved to Cardiff to slot underneath Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua on December 11, and suddenly Hitchins is fighting four and a half thousand miles from where he agreed to fight, for a promoter now juggling a much bigger night than the one he signed up for.
To his credit, Hitchins has not kicked off about the travel or the opponent. "As long as the pay is the same, I'm cool," he said this week. That is a fair position. He is 20-0 and a former IBF champion, not some journeyman who should be grateful for whatever scraps land on his plate.
The Problem With A Bill That Keeps Growing
Here is where it gets awkward. Hitchins-Davis was pitched to him as a co-feature. Now there is genuine talk of adding a Manny Pacquiao vs Shakur Stevenson fight to the same card, and if that lands, Hitchins-Davis does not headline the undercard anymore, it becomes the third fight down on a bill that already has two of the biggest names in the sport's history at the top of it. Same date, same city, smaller slice of the spotlight.
Let's not beat around the bush: promoters love it when a card grows, because more star power sells more subscriptions and more tickets. What they are less keen on is paying everybody the same money once the running order changes and their fight gets buried. That is the exact tension Hitchins is sitting in right now, and he is right to flag it before the contracts are finalised rather than after.
Hitchins Has Been Here Before
This is a fighter who beat Liam Paro on the road to win his first world title, then went to Australia and stopped George Kambosos Jr in the eighth round to defend it. He knows what it is to be undervalued on paper and then perform when it matters. That track record is exactly why he has leverage here, even on a card this stacked. Promoters do not want a 20-0 former champion walking away from a signed deal in the final months of the build.
The Fight Itself Deserves Better Than A Footnote
It would be a shame if the purse row overshadows what should be a proper 140-pound scrap. Davis is unbeaten, heavy-handed and has been calling for the biggest names at 135 and 140 for two years now. Hitchins is the more polished boxer, better on the outside, and has already proven he does not panic when the away corner starts making noise. On ability alone this is one of the best matchups anyone can make in that weight range right now, Fury-Joshua headline or not.
The Verdict
Make no mistake, Hitchins gets his money. Nobody assembling a card this size wants a public pay dispute dragging headlines away from Fury and Joshua in the run-up to December 11, and Zuffa have shown all year they will pay to keep a card clean. As for the fight itself, I like Hitchins on points here. He is the sharper boxer over twelve rounds, and Davis has not yet shared a ring with anyone who moves and counters the way Hitchins does. If you know, you know: this is the kind of undercard fight that ends up stealing the whole night.