Richardson Hitchins is confident in his victory against Gustavo Daniel Lemos. The Brooklyn native goes up against the Argentinian opponent in the main event at BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Saturday, April 6. The 12-round contest serves as the final eliminator for the IBF super lightweight title.
Manhattan-based Richardson Hitchins (17-0, 7 KOs) makes his first ring appearance for the year. The unbeaten 26-year-old looks to go through Lemos and setup fights against some of the biggest names in the division.
“This is my fourth fight with Matchroom and second headlining, my life has changed tremendously since that guy that was sat at the table going back and forth with Montana Love at that first time,” Richardson Hitchins said at the final pre-fight press conference. “I was saying that I was the best fighter on that card and that I should be headlining, and I have worked hard and spoken that into fruition.”
“At this point I can say that I have been here already, even before I was signed with Matchroom, I’ve said it numerous times before – I’ve beat former World champions, guys that were big punchers, guys that were undefeated; he has never been here. This is a whole different level. He’s never been punched in his face; I’ve been punched in my shit hard coming up. Everybody he’s fought had terrible records, it’s different when you get in with me, it’s a different type of game. Power isn’t going to win him this fight, being aggressive and trying to go to the body, that’s not going to win you this fight. It’s going to take him having that mind, experience and skill set to try to compete with me.”
“I expect Saturday night to be a whitewash, and for me to show that I’m on a whole different level. The only thing that can save him in this fight is his heart and if he can take a punch, and I’ve seen him hurt with bums. I’ve never been down in my career and never been hurt, thank god, but we’ll see what happens on Saturday but I just feel that I’m on a whole different level, up there with the Devin Haney’s, Subriel Matias’, Shakur Stevenson’s, the top level guys; I’m the cream of the crop type of talent and you have to start talking that like because I go out there over and over and prove it, I dominate.”
“If this guy comes out the way he’s been coming out in his last fights, like the way he fought Lee Selby, it’s not going to go good for him. Lee hurt him in the third round, and I ain’t Lee Selby – he was 35 years old and coming up from 126lbs. This guy has never fought anyone, I’m going to step on him on Saturday and I won’t lie Eddie, I’m robbing you, this is free money, it’s easy, you are just making my bank account look bigger.”
“I don’t just come up here and talk sh*t to amuse the fans, I’ve proved myself already. It’s time to get to that world stage. I’ve proved myself with the Jose Zepeda’s, Argenis Mendis’, John Bauza’s – I’ve proved myself and I’m going to keep proving myself every time I go out there.”
“I will beat whoever you put in front of me. Subriel Matias, Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, ‘Pitbull’ [Isaac Cruz] – whoever you put in front of me, I will get the job done. When you get in there with me, fighters don’t look the same. I’m not one of the guys Lemos has fought, Devin has fought; I’m not going to just receive punches or just be there; there’s going to be some shit coming back at you, there’s going to be a lot of thinking that you are going to have to do in there. My focus is on Gustavo Lemos, not Devin Haney, we’ve got to get past Saturday night just like I’ve had to get past all the other fights I’ve had.”
Gustavo Daniel Lemos: I do my talking inside the ring
Undefeated Gustavo Daniel Lemos (29-0, 19 KOs) makes his U.S. and international debut. The 28-year-old native of Tres Arroyos, Buenos Aires is also sure in his favorable outcome.
“We’ve had some great support from Argentina, and we’re fully prepared for this big fight and great opportunity,” Gustavo Lemos said. “Hitchins is in front of me and in the way of my path at the moment, so we hope we can get through this, and we hope that the public and fans enjoy the show on Saturday.”
“We have come to win, and I do my talking inside the ring. It feels like my opponent likes to do a lot of talking outside the ring but let’s see if he’s still speaking inside the ring, that would be beautiful if he’s still speaking inside the ring.”
In the co-feature on the card, LA’s Diego Pacheco (20-0, 17 KOs) takes on Shawn McCalman (15-0, 7 KOs) of Denver. The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds at super middleweight. The WBC USA and WBO International titles are on the line.
In the 10-round world title action, Australian Skye Nicolson (9-0, 1 KOs) faces Faroese-born Danish former world champion Sarah Mahfoud (14-1, 3 KOs). The pair battles it out for the vacant WBC featherweight belt.