Richardson Hitchins’ cell buzzed at 3 a.m., and he looked at the screen with weary eyes, only for them to widen when he saw who was messaging him so late, and why.
It was Floyd Mayweather.
He wanted to send Hitchins, a teenager back then, a private jet so he could fly him New York to Las Vegas.
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Floyd chaperoned him from a condo the all-timer hooked him up with to the Mayweather Boxing Club in one of his street-legal supercars, just so the youngster could learn from, train alongside and spar some of the best boxers in the Fight Capital of the World.
Life had come at Hitchins fast. He wasn’t born into flamboyance but, as he puts it, a Brooklyn “struggle.”
Hitchins lived with his brother, mother and grandfather and described a daily grind before they were evicted “and ended up in a shelter” at a time when he was trying to qualify and then prepare for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The summer tournament showcased a who’s who of elite talent destined for success in the pro game, from silver medalist Shakur Stevenson — currently Uncrowned’s No. 3 pound-for-pound boxer — to Charles Conwell, Carlos Balderas and Teofimo Lopez.
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Hardship outside the ropes also followed him into the ring, losing to Gary Antuanne Russell in the opening round of the Games.
Richardson Hitchins’ arrow is pointing up.
(Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy via Getty Images)
He felt he was on the outside, looking in.
Stevenson commanded a lot of attention in Brazil, having dinner with Mayweather and renowned boxing manager J. Prince.
Little did he know, within years, he’d sign terms with Mayweather Promotions, which believed he was America’s next big thing.
The activity at Mayweather Promotions has waned considerably, but former CEO Leonard Ellerbe always had an eye for talent, from spotting Floyd to Gervonta “Tank” Davis and younger talents such as Curmel Moton, Robert Meriwether III and, of course, Hitchins.
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“[Ellerbe] had a great boxing eye,” Hitchins told Uncrowned days before his super lightweight clash against Oscar Duarte on Saturday.
“Ellerbe had been high on me since I was younger, and before Floyd even saw me, he said, ‘They say you’re the next guy.’”
Hitchins continued: “As a kid, he always told me, ‘You’re gonna get there. And even when I left Mayweather Promotions, they were always wishing me the best and congratulating me on any success.”
Hitchins will never forget the opportunity Mayweather and Ellerbe gave him, when, he said, “no other company would.”
Stevenson, Lopez, and Conwell were the toast of the town back in Rio. Hitchins saw from the sidelines how they courted attention from multiple promoters.
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But it was only Mayweather who was ever interested in him, even though he tried to fan a flame of a bidding war to no avail.
“I want to sign with you,” he once told Top Rank early on in his career. The response was muted until it was too late.
“Years later, somebody that worked with [Top Rank matchmaker] Brad Goodman said not signing me was one of the ‘biggest regrets’ in his life,’” Hitchins said.
Hitchins seems to hold no grudges, though.
When he saw Stevenson, who did sign with Top Rank early in his career, he saw someone highly polished. “I wasn’t fully developed,” Hitchins said.
Now, Stevenson and Hitchins are both signed with Matchroom Boxing— one of the sport’s few global promoters that recently signed a five-year extension with broadcaster DAZN, pledging 12 shows in the U.S.
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“And everything played out how it’s supposed to,” Hitchins said.
One need only look at his exemplary performance against the former lineal lightweight king George Kambosos to see how close to the elite Hitchins really is.
“It was definitely a statement,” Hitchins said of his coming-of-age domination of Kambosos, stopping the Australian in the eighth round.
Hitchins only had one announcement to make at the time. “I’m here,” he said.
It wasn’t just a win for Hitchins. It was validation for Matchroom, too — proof that its bet on a fighter some dismissed as “cat-and-mouse” had been correct.
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“It was a big win for me,” Hitchins told Uncrowned. “I displayed a lot of skills, powe and just the sweet science of it. I dismantled him and I broke him down, battered him and beat him up.”
Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) said people who work with him in the gym know what he’s capable of, but he is still determined to show the world the levels he can get to.
“I’m stronger, and punching like a man,” Hitchins said. “My coach tells me all the time he now feels my punches, and the respect I get when I’m in the ring, they’re trying to load up and knock my head off. But their gloves are just punching my forearms, grazing my bones.”
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And so despite any increase in power from advancing years and subsequent strength, he will always refuse to fight fire with fire, preferring instead to fight it with water. “It’s not effective when it’s deflected,” he said. “I embrace [the art of boxing].”
The question now is whether Duarte is just the next in line on Hitchins’ journey to the top of the sport.
“Let’s be honest, I feel good,” he said. “Once I get in there, feel him, understand him and see what he’s coming with, understand his timing, rhythm, I just go to work from there.
“I’m the one that decides if this is going to be a signature win,” he said. “I’ve been boxing my whole life. I understand the key elements of boxing, and I’ll figure [him] out sooner, than later.”
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From an overlooked and, perhaps, underappreciated commodity early on, it may not be long before Hitchins follows Stevenson into the pound-for-pound rankings.
It comes at a boom period for American fighters, with Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, Devin Haney and David Benavidez all in the pound-for-pound top 10.
If Hitchins beats Duarte on Saturday in Las Vegas on DAZN PPV, he may only be a few fights from cracking those rankings himself.
“I know I’ll beat the best,” Hitchins said, “they just need to put them in front of me.”
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