Richardson Hitchins, Gustavo Lemos Both Under 140-Pound Limit For IBF Title Eliminator
Richardson Hitchins put to rest any concerns of struggling to make the 140-pound limit.
The Brooklyn, New York native and 2016 Olympian for Haiti was all business as stepped on the scale Friday afternoon. Hitchins (17-0, 7 knockouts) registered at 139.8 pounds for his IBF title eliminator versus Argentina’s Gustavo Lemos.
There were no issues on the other side of Saturday evening’s DAZN main event, either. Lemos (29-0, 19 KOs) checked in at 138.4 pounds for his first career fight outside of Argentina.
Saturday’s show marks the first sporting event to take place at the newly built Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
The Hitchins-Lemos winner will become the mandatory challenger to current IBF 140-pound titlist Subriel Matias (20-1, 20 KOs).
Hitchins, The Ring’s No. 6-rated junior welterweight contender, went twelve rounds for the first time in his last outing. The 2016 Olympian for Haiti defeated former title challenger Jose Zepeda (37-5, 28 KOs) last September 24 in Orlando, Florida. All three judges scored 120-108 for Hitchins, who is now one win away from his first major title fight.
Lemos was previously in line for a lightweight title shot. He defeated former 126-pound titlist Lee Selby via fifth-round knockout in a March 2022 IBF title eliminator. The long wait for a title shot resulted in his outgrowing the division.
The unbeaten theme carries over into the evening’s co-feature between Diego Pacheco (20-0, 17 KOs) and Shawn McCalman (15-0, 7 KOs).
South Central’s Pacheco—who trains with the Benavidez family in the greater Seattle area—was 167.4 pounds. Colorado’s McCalman came in at 167.6 pounds for their scheduled ten-round bout.
Pacheco is The Ring’s No. 8-rated super middleweight contender.
Skye Nicolson and former titleholder Sarah Mahfoud meet for the vacant WBC featherweight crown. The pair of Ring-ranked featherweights both made weight for the evening’s lone major title fight.
Australia’s Nicolson (9-0, 1 KO)–a 2020 Olympic quarterfinalist and No. 5 at 126, weighed 125.6 pounds. Denmark’s Mahfoud (14-1, 3 KOs), No. 1 at 126 and a former IBF titlist, was a light and fit 125 pounds.
Below are the weights for the rest of the undercard.
10 rounds, Flyweight (DAZN main card)
Galal Yafai (6-0, 4 KOs), Birmingham, England, 111.6 pounds
Agustin Gauto (21-1, 15 KOs), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 111.2 pounds.
10 rounds, Flyweight (DAZN main card)
Marc Castro (11-0, 8 KOs), Fresno, California, 130 pounds
Abraham Montoya (22-5-1, 14 KOs), Mexicali, Mexico, 129 pounds
6 rounds, Junior Bantamweight (DAZN/YouTube ‘Before The Bell’)
Steven Navarro (pro debut), Los Angeles, Calif., 115.6 pounds
Jose Lopez (4-2-3, KOs), Ridgewood, N.Y., 114.8 pounds
4 rounds, Lightweight (DAZN/YouTube ‘Before The Bell’)
Harley Mederos (5-0, 4 KOs), Brooklyn, N.Y., 134.6 pounds
Pedro Vicente (7-6-1, 2 KOs), Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, 134.8 pounds
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
READ THE MARCH ISSUE OF THE RING FOR FREE VIA THE NEW APP NOW. SUBSCRIBE NOW TO ACCESS MORE THAN 10 YEARS OF BACK ISSUES.
The post Richardson Hitchins, Gustavo Lemos Both Under 140-Pound Limit For IBF Title Eliminator appeared first on The Ring.