Hours after clearing the IBF rehydration check, undefeated IBF world junior welterweight champion and Brooklyn native Richardson Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) reported an illness and was pulled out of his scheduled title defense against Oscar Duarte (30-2-1, 23 KOs) in the co-main event of Mario Barrios versus Ryan Garcia this past Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Hitchins had made weight on Friday and again satisfied the IBF rehydration clause that limits fighters to just 10 pounds over their weight class limit. With his sudden illness, the co-main event was called off at the last minute.
“They let me know he was sick, but they didn’t really specify [what was wrong],” his opponent, Duarte, said. “Really, what I think is that he got scared of the moment. He was scared, and he didn’t have the balls to be here.”
Duarte’s promoter, Mexican American boxing icon Oscar De La Hoya, has called for an investigation. Typically, when a fighter withdraws at the last minute, the state athletic commission requires medical documentation and may conduct its own review to confirm the legitimacy of the withdrawal. Hopefully the Brooklyn pugilist has a chance to redeem himself and defend his title, but if not, he will move up to welterweight.
In the main event of the evening, a battle of two Mexican Americans, Ryan Garcia dropped Mario Barrios in the first round, dominating the fight by a 119-108, 120-107, and 118-109 decision to win the WBC welterweight title.
“It was one of the fights where I wanted to show you my whole arsenal,” said Garcia, who won his first fight since late 2023. “I believe it was like a masterclass, but I should have gotten the knockout, to be honest. It wasn’t just a left hook. Y’all were saying watch out for my left hook the whole time, but you saw my right hand working tonight.”
“I saw a composed Ryan, I saw a focused Ryan, I saw a Ryan that knew he had to win, so therefore we saw a complete Ryan,” Garcia’s promoter, De La Hoya, added. “We saw a Ryan that was well trained, that was determined to win that world title, and at times when he throws those combinations, and he lands, he gets a little reckless, so it’s like ‘hey, get your composure, got back to your jab, have fun.’ That’s exactly what he was doing. The speed was too much.”
With his older brother and longtime former WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. in his corner, Gary Antuanne Russell (19-1, 17 KOs) defeated Japanese fighter Andy Hiraoka by unanimous decision to retain his WBA junior welterweight 140-pound title with scores of 116-110, 117-110, and 116-111 from the three judges. It was Hiraoka’s (24-1) first loss as a pro. “Adversity is something to expect in this sport,” said Russell. “I feel like he was down on the scorecards and knew it, so he tried to pick up the intensity. We had plan A, B,C, so whatever he brought to the table, I knew we would make the necessary adjustments.”