Richardson Hitchins and George Kambosos Jr do not like each other. That much has been apparent during the fiery build-up ahead of Saturday night’s fight that will see the unbeaten New Yorker defend his IBF 140-pound title against the former lightweight champ from Australia.

(Credit: Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom)

Hitchins Insults Boxing Legend Lomachenko

The two have traded words, and we hope the fight turns out to be as much fun as the trash-talk has been. And there is one major reason why Kambosos doesn’t like Hitchins, and it has to do with the lack of respect Hitchins had towards another fighter – the great Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Lomachenko, who recently announced his retirement, fought Kambosos in what will now go down as the Ukrainian great’s final bout. Loma was brilliant last May, and he stopped Kambosos late on. And the way Hitchins said during a face-off ahead of Saturday’s fight that he would have “whipped Lomachenko” had he fought him, really did anger Kambosos.

“The way he disrespected the great Lomachenko, who obviously retired, he disrespected him,” Kambosos said when speaking again with The Ring. “He was saying he would have whipped Lomachenko, he would’ve beaten Lomachenko. How dare you say that? That’s a legend of the sport.”

It does seem as though Hitchins, 19-0(7) was indeed being disrespectful towards a great fighter, a fighter he had absolutely no business insulting as he is not even fighting him. Or was Hitchins saying what he was saying in an attempt at mind games, as if to suggest that he would have beaten a man who stopped Kambosos? Who knows.

Hitchins Vows Kambosos Domination

But Hitchins, who has vowed to “dominate” Kambosos and “make it look easy,” is the man who has put all the pressure on himself going into Saturday’s fight. Fans now expect a great showing from Hitchins, especially now that he has said what he said he would have done had he ever fought Loma. If there is a good guy and a bad guy in the Hitchins-Kambosos fight, it seems Kambosos, 22-3(10) is the good guy. But that, of course, does not mean he will win the fight.