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Steve Wellings’ SubstackThe plush surrounds of the new Fountainebleu in Las Vegas may have been prim and polished but the shine was slightly taken off Richardson Hitchins after he defeated Gustavo Lemos.Not that Hitchins should be taken to task for the judges’ scoring. He did his job against a very capable operator. The two 115-113 cards were passable. Tim Cheatham’s 117-111 offering was a shocker. Only the self-styled Gwoat, Claressa Shields, cheering on from ringside, could agree with such an egregious calculation.Perfectly fitting the stereotype of tenacious Argentine boxers, Lemos came fast out of the blocks and barely relented for the full 12 rounds. Competing more in the style of a Brian Castano than Marcos Maidana, Lemos’ output only briefly faltered in the mid-rounds.Despite his post-fight social media protestations, Hitchins never felt in control. Referee Raul Caiz Jr allowed him to get away with far too much holding as the New Yorker desperately tried to repel Lemos’ switch-hitting attacks.Richardson should not be castigated for taking tough fights. World title eliminators are supposed to be difficult. Fighting the winner of Subriel Matias-Liam Paro will be even more difficult. Keeping Matias at a safe distance is a mission few have been able to complete. The evidence Hitchins provided on Saturday evening is that he will be no more successful at repelling the Puerto Rican beast than those who have gone before.
Pacheco primed for bigger tests
On the undercard, the aforementioned
Diego Pacheco was forced to make some adjustments before defeating
Shawn McCalman over 10 rounds.
Marc Castro passed his first big professional test by outpointing
Abraham Montoya. The loser never gets stopped and never wilted despite Castro’s swift pace.
Galal Yafai had to negotiate past a bad cut and some tricky moments before
Agustin Gauto ran out of steam in round eight.
Skye Nicolson picked up the vacant WBC featherweight title after beating
Sarah Mahfoud on points. Skye now wants to fight Amanda Serrano over 12 rounds.
Legacy scrap as Estrada boxes BamWBC super-flyweight champion
Juan Francisco Estrada has escaped from possible captivity to box Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez on June 29. Bam was last seen defeating Sunny Edwards, who is touted for an undercard slot. Estrada has been absent for 18 months and needs a good win to truly cement his Hall-Of-Fame career. Phoenix is the venue and Eddie Hearn will promote the event. Bam is fast becoming a little superstar.
Replacement opponent for MoloneyFollowing Carlos Cuadras’ withdrawal, Aussie
Andrew Moloney will now face
Pedro Guevara for the esteemed vacant WBC Interim super-flyweight title. This takes place on May 12 as a co-feature to Vasyl Lomachenko-George Kambosos. Guevara lost to Cuadras (split decision) for this same title in Uzbekistan late last year.
Canada assignment for Heffron against MbilliHunting down Canelo is thirsty work for
Christian Mbilli who keeps active on May 25 when Oldham’s Mark Heffron comes to town. Once-upon-a-time Heffron was a feared puncher but he’s since found his level. Mbilli will be too strong and ferocious as his quest for world honours gathers pace.
On the undercard in Shawinigan, heavyweight puncher
Arslanbek Makhmudov will look to bounce back from his first defeat at the hands of Agit Kabayel by tackling Junior Fa over 10 rounds.
Subriel Matias to make homecoming title defenceBoxing’s new beast,
Subriel Matias, will be looking to force another quit when he defends his IBF 140-pound crown in Puerto Rico on June 15. Matias has signed with Matchroom Boxing and hopes to coax one of the big boys into the ring if and when he dispatches Aussie Liam Paro.Matias was last seen defeating
Shohjahon Ergashev. The Sugar Hill-trained Uzbek returned with a stoppage win over on DAZN recently and is desperate for a revenge mission. He claims a savage knife assault caused the leg damage that led to his sole career loss.
In other news… Teofimo Lopez is all set to defend his WBO super-lightweight belt against Steve Claggett on June 29.
Shakur Stevenson looks likely to meet Artem Harutyunyan in July.The
Erik Bazinyan vs. Shakeel Phinn clash that was supposed to take place yesterday has been pushed back to May 2 after Bazinyan reportedly fell ill.Media Credits: Sporting News, Eye of the Tiger Promotions.
About Steve: Experienced boxing writer, author of 8 books and podcaster of over 500 eps. 20 years in the sport. Covered hundreds of shows for newspapers and Boxing News magazine. Chief video script writer for Motivedia channel and BN+. For enquiries: stevenwellings1982@gmail.com.
