Only ten days after announcing his new deal with Zuffa Boxing, undefeated junior welterweight Richardson Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) vacated his IBF world title and will move up to 147.
On Monday night, Hitchins’ manager, Keith Connolly, told Ring Magazine, “It was a tough decision for Hitchins, but he’s outgrown the weight class; he’s been fighting at 140 since he was 16 as an amateur,” said Connolly. “Hitchins is an elite fighter, and I truly believe he’ll be even better and stronger at welterweight and that he will be fighting for a world title at 147 in the next 12 months.”
The next morning, the IBF released the following statement:
“On the evening of April 20, 2026, the IBF received notification from Richardson Hitchins that he was relinquishing his IBF Jr. Welterweight World title. Hitchins expressed his pride in fighting for, winning, and holding the title. Likewise, the IBF was proud to have Hitchins as a world champion. We recognized his talent, included him in the rankings, and he took that path to the championship. The IBF extends its best wishes to Richardson Hitchins for his continued success.”
“The #1 challenger in the division is Lindolfo Delgado who will be ordered to negotiate for the title with the next leading available contender.”
Hitchins is no longer the IBF junior welterweight champion, but was it really a surprise that he decided to vacate his title and move up to 147? Not really, as he was ill the day of his scheduled fight against Oscar Duarte, according to his manager Connolly. He then signed with Zuffa Boxing, which doesn’t have a junior welterweight division because it only recognizes eight weight classes. Given Zuffa’s recent history with the IBF regarding the Jai Opetaia situation, it wasn’t a matter of if but when.
Words have meaning, and when Zuffa Boxing sent out the press release announcing Edgar Berlanga and Hitchins signing with the company, they used the following statement: “Berlanga will return to the ring under the Zuffa Boxing banner to reclaim his position as a top contender in the super middleweight division.” That implies Berlanga will be fighting at super middleweight, which currently isn’t a division within Zuffa Boxing. But for Hitchins, they said, “Hitchins joins Zuffa Boxing in the prime of his career as one of the world’s best super lightweights.” That statement defines what he is currently but doesn’t imply he will be there in the future, as the Berlanga statement did. It’s a play with words, but the message was there in plain sight.
Regardless of the matter, Hitchins will now compete at welterweight, and the only leverage he has is that Zuffa Boxing doesn’t have the politics of fighters from other promotions turning down a fight against Hitchins or a purse bid. Hitchins will get fights under Zuffa, but how he performs against those in the welterweight division is certainly a “wait-and-see” situation, so his next fight in the summer will be highly anticipated.
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