Hitchins Tells Russell To Build His Name Before Unifying

IBF light welterweight champion Richardson Hitchins let WBA champion Gary Antuanne Russell know today that he needs to build his name up before he’ll agree to fight him in a unification clash at 140.

A 0–4 History Haunts

With a 0-4 record against Russell in the amateurs, it looks like a ducking move on Hitchins’ part, choosing to reject a fight against him. This would be the ideal way for Hitchins to increase his popularity by capturing a second title at 140 in a unification clash against Antuanne Russell.

Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) isn’t in a great position to be rejecting a unification fight against Antuanne Russell (18-1, 17 KOs), as he’s without an opponent after capturing the vacant IBF title against George Kambosos Jr. on June 14, 2025.

The Brooklyn, New York native Richardson recently said he wanted to fight the winner of last Saturday’s fight between WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. and Devin Haney despite never having fought at 147. Now that Haney has come out victorious in that fight, he and his father, Bill Haney, failed to mention Hitchins as a candidate for his first defense.

Avoiding the True 140 King

That leaves Hitchins in a spot where he doesn’t have any options available to him for a lucrative fight. Fighting what many fans view as the true King of the 140-lb division, Gary Antuanne Russell, would help Hitchins earn a bigger name for himself.

If Richardson wants to be included in Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season events and receive the red-carpet treatment like Haney, fighting Russell is the way to get noticed.

Hitchins Brushes Off Russell

“[You] got smoked by me 4-0 and won’t even get his get back. You a b**ch,” said Gary Antuanne Russell on X to Richardson Hitchins about his lack of courage to fight him to avenge his four losses.

“Shut your hoe a** up and go get your name up. You’re living off amateur s*** still. Clown 😂” said Richardson Hitchins in response to Antuanne Russell.

It’s hard not to see Hitchins’ rejection of a fight against Russell as an avoidance on his part. Richardson lost four times to Antuanne Russell in the amateurs, including at the 2016 U.S Olympic Trials (Box-offs), which kept him off the team. So, after Hitchins lost, he chose to qualify for the Haitian 2016 Olympic team, as his parents are from that country.

Olympic Wounds Still Fresh

Perhaps the unkindest cut of all for Hitchins, representing Haiti, was facing Antuanne Russell in his first match in the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Russell beat Hitchins once again by a unanimous decision, eliminating him from the Olympics. After that bitter loss, you’d have to think Hitchins would want his get-back. Surprisingly, he doesn’t want to fight Russell, telling him, “Go get your name up.”