‘No one can take this away from me’: Hitchins reacts to becoming world champion with win over Paro

Richardson Hitchins reacts to his win over Liam Paro to become a world champion.

With Richardson Hitchins scoring a decision win over Liam Paro over the weekend to take the IBF world title, he talks to iFL TV immediately after the bout to share his thoughts on the moment and what he’s looking to do next. Check out some excerpts of what he had to say below.

Hitchins on his win over Paro

“I knew in boxing they say you’re only as good as your last performance. Everybody’s probably back on my bandwagon, everybody’s probably painting a new guy that they say will beat me. It is what it is, it comes with the sport. I’m just happy to be a guy who fulfilled his dream in the sport of boxing, no one can take this away from me. Liam Paro is a great champion, strong champion, a tricky champion and a game champion, so it’s not like I just beat any guy tonight.

“He was, I think, the second or third world champion on my list that I beat in my career in boxing, and I’m just happy. He used his skills, he used his distance, his bouncing, his feinting — so many feints...he made me think, he made me up my brain a little bit. It was a good little chess game but he couldn’t play that game with me. I feel like I was just the smarter guy but that game kept him from just getting completely dominated.”

On what it was like when the decision was read

“It just felt surreal, man. To be a world champion, it feels like — I don’t know. I just want this day to last forever, you know what I’m saying? It just feels great to be a world champion, to achieve my dream. I’m lost for words. I’m truly grateful and all glory to God, to be honest. I come from nothing, I come from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. Now I’m building an empire for myself, making a name for myself and my family and that’s all I ever wanted. I did all this shit with a pair of gloves, man.”

On wanting a fight with Teofimo Lopez

“I feel like Teo is one the biggest names in the division and he’s from New York. I think that will be a big, big fight. That would be a very trash talking, just competitive fight. His dad will be talking shit, I’ll be talking shit. It’ll be a great fight.”