- Richardson Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) has officially relinquished his IBF junior welterweight title and signed with Zuffa Boxing
- Manager Keith Connolly says Hitchins has 'outgrown the weight class' and will be fighting for a 147lb world title within twelve months
- Oscar Duarte and Lindolfo Delgado are now the IBF's leading contenders, with the sanctioning body about to clarify the landscape
A Champion Walks Away From His Belt — On Purpose
Let's not beat around the bush. Richardson Hitchins is the IBF super-lightweight champion, was the IBF super-lightweight champion, and as of this week is now a free agent at 147lb with a Zuffa Boxing deal in his back pocket. Twenty fights, twenty wins, eight knockouts, the belt won by outpointing Liam Paro in December 2024 and defended once with a body-shot stoppage of George Kambosos. Now he has handed it back. And he has done it not because anyone forced his hand, but because he reckons there is a bigger pay day in front of him.
Make no mistake, this is the modern boxing economy in one paragraph. The mandatories at 140 were piling up, the eliminators were going to grind on for months, and the names at 147 — Crawford, Ennis, Stanionis, the rest — are where the real cheques are. Hitchins has done the maths and walked. You can criticise the timing, but you can't criticise the logic.
Connolly Spells It Out — He Has 'Outgrown The Weight'
His manager Keith Connolly has been refreshingly blunt about it. The line he gave was that Hitchins has 'outgrown the weight class; he's been fighting at 140 since he was 16 as an amateur', and the plan is for Hitchins to be fighting for a world title at 147 inside the next twelve months. Twelve months. That is not a vague promise. That is a Zuffa-backed timeline, and Dana White's lot do not normally do twelve-month promises without already having a route mapped out.
Whether the route is straight to a champion or via a final eliminator depends on who lands first. But the intent is plain — Zuffa want a star at welterweight, Hitchins fancies himself in that division, and everyone involved would rather skip the IBF queue at 140 entirely. So they have.
What Happens At 140 Now — Duarte, Delgado And A Belt Up For Grabs
Right then, the actual division. Oscar Duarte is already on the record declaring himself the champion now that Hitchins has stepped aside, and the IBF are expected to bring clarity by ordering Duarte against Lindolfo Delgado in a vacant title fight. That is a proper scrap, by the way. Two pressure fighters, both with knockout power, both willing to bite down on a gumshield and have a go. If you know, you know — Duarte vs Delgado is the kind of vacant-title fight that nobody pretends is a coronation, because either man could win.
The other beneficiaries are obvious. Regis Prograis sits in the background. Jack Catterall is in the WBO mix at 140. Dalton Smith can argue he is now the most credible British contender at the weight. Suddenly the division feels open again, and that is no bad thing. A weight class with Hitchins as the immovable champion was getting tedious. A weight class with four or five live challengers all chasing the same belt is brilliant.
The Zuffa Question — Is The Move Genuine, Or Just A Protection Racket?
Here is the test. Zuffa Boxing has been pitched as a destination for fighters who want big money without the inconvenience of fighting the absolute best. Some of their early cards have backed that up. Others have not. Hitchins is a credibility signing — he is unbeaten, he is technical, he is articulate, and he has a belt-winning win on his record. If Zuffa put him in with a fringe contender at 147 and dress it up as a world title, the move is exposed for what it is.
But if Zuffa get him in with a Stanionis, an Ortiz, even a Conor Benn for the right purse, then the deal looks like a proper springboard. The early signs from Connolly's quotes suggest the latter. The next Hitchins announcement will tell us which version of Zuffa we are dealing with.
Final Word — Bold, Risky, And Probably The Right Call
Hitchins has handed back a world title before he turned twenty-eight, in a division he has never been beaten in, to chase a bigger payday at the next weight up. A few years ago that would have been unthinkable. Today it is a calculated career bet, and the calculation is not stupid. He is a quality boxer with the size to handle 147 and the style — long, clever, hand-fast — to give the welterweight champions a real puzzle.
Our prediction? Hitchins lands a final eliminator at 147 inside the next six months, wins it on points, and gets a crack at a world title before the end of the calendar year. He won't beat Crawford. He won't beat Ennis on the night they're sharpest. But he will absolutely beat half a dozen of the names sitting around the welterweight top ten, and that is a livelihood. Bold move, fair play.