Richardson Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs) actually acquired away with one on Saturday night time, profitable one of many worst-scored victories of the 12 months in his IBF 140-lb title eliminator towards Gustavo Lemos (29-1, 19 KOs) in a Matchroom-promoted card on DAZN on the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, Las Vegas.
The scores had been 117-111, 115-113, and 115-113. These scores had been absurd from the battle that happened tonight, however that’s the sort of night time this was. It was unhealthy scoring and a passive referee that allowed Hitchins to carry all night time with out penalizing him.
Lemos Dominates; Hitchins Clings and Holds
Lemos introduced the motion, touchdown the tougher pictures and hurting Hitchins a number of occasions. Hitchins was on his bike for a lot of the battle, and the one time he stopped was in order that he may maintain Lemos.
Unable to deal with the ability of Lemos, Hitchins was compelled to clinch, straight-arm, and transfer to maintain from getting royally pounded.
The referee did nothing about Hitchins’s extreme holding, which ought to have resulted in multiple-point deductions and disqualification. It’s unclear why the ref didn’t take factors off and even warn.
The ref needed to be conscious that Hitchins was gaming the system together with his holding but remained passive the whole battle. It was baffling and stunning that an official may simply stand and watch with out lifting a finger to cease the conduct.
Hitchins’ holding was his predominant defensive tactic, and he was overboard with how a lot he was utilizing. How does the referee not warn concerning the clinching that Hitchins was doing? He was actually grabbing Lemos every time he would get close to sufficient to punch.
The Highway to the Title
Hitchins’s victory makes him the IBF necessary for champion Subriel Matias. He’s going through Liam Paro in June, and Hitchins would then face the winner.
Promoter Eddie Hearn expressed curiosity after the battle to match Hitchins towards the winner subsequent. The one factor that will dissuade Hitchins from moving into that course is that if he can get a title shot towards the winner of the April twentieth battle between WBC gentle welterweight champion Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia.
