Richardson Hitchins is back in the ring on Saturday, September 23 at Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida, where he faces Jose Zepeda. The pair squares off in the scheduled for 12 rounds headline-bout at super lightweight. The event airs live on DAZN.
Going up against former two-division world title challenger, Hitchins brings to the ring his IBF North American title. In addition, the vacant WBC “Silver” and WBO NABO belts are on the line.
In his previous outing in February in New York, Hitchins scored a unanimous decision against John Bauza and improved his unbeaten record to 16-0, 7 KOs. 34-year-old Zepeda (36-3 27 KOs) of Long Beach, California was in action in March, when he earned a unanimous decision against Neeraj Goyat and rebounded from the defeat suffered last November against Regis Prograis in their bout for the WBC super lightweight belt.
Ahead of the event, Richardson Hitchins appeared on Matchroom Boxing’s “Flash Knockdown” podcast. The 25-year-old native of Brooklyn, New York shared that he saw himself “being a legend of the sport”. He also revealed how a visit from Gervonta Davis boosted his preparations, and gave his pick for the potential bout between Devin Haney and Regis Prograis.
Tickets for Hitchins vs Zepeda can be purchased through TicketNetwork.
Richardson Hitchins: I see myself being a legend of the sport
“Now my foot is in the door headlining my first show against someone who has a great name in the division,” said Hitchins. “It shows my pedigree and skills that I display to get to this part of the journey.”
“Zepeda has competed on the World stage. It’s a level up from my previous opponents but if I am who I believe I am, I should win this fight and possibly get him out of there.”
“There’s a lot on the line right now but I’m not focused on the belts. My job is to go out there and dominate Zepeda and show who I am, then we can look at the landscape of the division.”
“I see myself being a legend of the sport, who has mastered the craft of boxing. I want to inspire the next generation, if you see the progression in my career from my amateur status to now, I can relate to the young talent coming through.”
In the 10-round co-main event, unified WBA and WBC welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill (12-3 5 KOs) and WBO titleholder Sandy Ryan (6-1 2 KOs) meet in the championship unification. Also on the card, Austin Williams (14-0 10 KOs) takes on Steve Rolls (22-2 12 KOs) in the 10-rounder at middleweight. In addition, Orestes Velazquez (7-0 6 KOs) meets Mohamed Soumaoro (13-1 6 KOs) in the 10-rounder at super lightweight.
In Australia, Hitchins vs Zepeda airs live on Sunday, September 24.
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