Richardson Hitchins is denying reports that he turned down a fight against 140-lb contender Jamaine Ortiz for the ‘Ring 6″ event on January 31 at Madison Square Garden in New York. This is the Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson card on DAZN.
Boxing insider, Dan, first broke the news earlier tonight that IBF light welterweight champion Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) turned down the fight against Jamaine (20-2-1, 10 KOs).
Four Top Names Already Declined
Fans believe the story was valid, as Hitchins doesn’t have a fight scheduled, and he’s already recently declined fights against these fighters:
Keyshawn Davis
Gary Antuanne Russell
Ernesto Mercado
Subriel Matias
“Say they didn’t offer you to fight me & you chose not to,” said Jamaine Ortiz on X, talking about Richardson Hitchins having been offered a fight against him for January 31st, but turned it down.
“Never Offered” — His Response
“Ya believe everything you hear,” said Hitchins, responding to the reports that he turned down a fight against Jamaine for next month. “I’m on my mother’s life, your name. Never was bought up to me, you goof a**.”
Either way, it would have been a good addition to the Teofimo vs. Stevenson card to have IBF 140-lb champion Hitchins facing Jamaine. It would give fans a chance to see if Hitchins can hang with a quality fighter who pushed Teofimo and Vasily Lomachenko.
Many boxing fans believe that Ortiz fought well enough to deserve the win in his fight against Teofimo last year on February 8, 2024. The judges gave it to Lopez by a 12-round unanimous decision in Las Vegas. I watched the fight from ringside, and I had Jamaine winning 9-3.
Fans are wondering when Hitchins will fight again, as he’s got a growing reputation for a guy who turns down fights. The fights that he declines are ones in which he could lose. That’s the real problem, as he looks like he’s ducking by saying no to fights against Jamaine, Keyshawn, Mercado, and Matias.
