Richardson Hitchins became a new world champion on December 7 when he faced Liam Paro at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Brooklyn native took the victory against the defending IBF super lightweight champion from Australia by split decision.
After 12 rounds, one judge scored the fight 117-111 in favor of Paro. Two other judges had 116-112 for Hitchins.
In addition to the belt, 27-year-old Richardson Hitchins improved his unbeaten record to 19-0, 7 KOs. 28-year-old southpaw Liam Paro didn’t succeed in his first championship defense and dropped to 25-1, 15 KOs.
In the co-feature, Henry Lebron (20-0, 10 KOs) defeated fellow Puerto Rican Christopher Diaz (29-5, 19 KOs) by unanimous decision. After 10 rounds at super featherweight, the scores were 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94.
Among other Paro vs Hitchins results, Puerto Rico’s Yankiel Rivera (7-0, 3 KOs) stopped Angel Gonzalez (14-1, 7 KOs) of Hartford, Connecticut. The flyweight bout was halted at 2:09 into the fourth round.
Agustin Ezequiel Quintana (21-2-1, 13 KOs) of Argentina pulled off an upset taking a split decision against Marc Castro (13-1, 8 KOs) of Fresno, CA. After 10 rounds at lightweight, the scores were 97-93, 94-96 and 96-94.
William Ortiz (7-0, 4 KOs) landed a unanimous decision against fellow Puerto Rican Lionell Taz Colon Santana (6-1, 3 KOs). The eight-round super lightweight match ended with 80-72 across the board.
Jalil Hackett (9-1, 7 KOs) of Washington, D.C. suffered his first career defeat, dropping a split decision against Puerto Rico’s Jose Roman Vazquez (14-1, 6 KOs). After 10 rounds, the latter took the victory by split decision with the scores 96-94, 94-96 and 96-94.
Juan Zayas (11-0-1, 8 KOs) of Puerto Rico earned a unanimous decision against Geraldo Valdez (16-3, 11 KOs) of the Dominican Republic. After eight rounds at bantamweight, the scores were 78-73, 78-73 and 77-74.
Kicking off the action, Puerto Rico’s Stephanie Pineiro Aquino (8-0, 2 KOs) defeated Kalindra Faria (2-3) of Brazil by unanimous decision at welterweight. After eight rounds, all three scores were 80-71. Faria took the fight on short notice, replacing former champion Ogleidis Suarez (30-5-1, 14 KOs) of Venezuela.