IBF light welterweight Richardson Hitchins needs a spectacular performance tonight in his defense against the upset-minded George Kambosos Jr. at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Star in the making, Andy Cruz, fights Hironori Mishiro in an IBF lightweight title eliminator in the co-feature.

Hitchins-Kambosos: Fight Time, Broadcast

The broadcast time for Hitchins-Kambosos  live on DAZN starts at 8:00 P.M. ET/4:00 P.M. PT. The main event ring walks are expected to start around 11:00 p.m. ET. The preliminary card begins at 6:30 P.M. ET.

Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) has received a lot of praise from his promoter, Eddie Hearn, who paints a picture of him as a crowd-pleaser that doesn’t relate to his sometimes humdrum performances, inducing sleep in his audiences. The Brooklyn, New York native, Hitchins won a controversial decision in 2024 against Gastavo Lemos in a fight that many boxing fans felt he’d lost.

Even if you say Hitchins deserved the victory, it was still a close affair with two judges scoring it 115-113 x 2 in his favor. That fight, along with his clashes against Jose Zepeda and John Bauza, showed that he struggles against pressure fighters. Kambosos and his team will have watched those fights and will have a game plan tonight to press Hitchins constantly.

DAZN Main Card: Hitchins, Cruz Fights

• Richardson Hitchins vs. George Kambosos Jr.
• Andy Cruz vs. Hironori Mishiro
• Alexis Barriere vs. Roney Hines
• Zaquin Moses vs. Carl Rogers
• Pablo Valdez vs. Cesar Diaz

Prelims at 6:30 P.M. ET on DAZN

• Nishant Dev vs. Josue Silva
• Adam Maca vs. Rafael Castillo
• Teremoana Teremoana vs. Aleem Whitfield

Andy Cruz: Olympic Gold, Rising Star

2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz is the fighter to watch on tonight’s card, as he’s the best talent and the one who has an excellent chance of becoming a bona fide star at 135.

Hearn believes he’ll capture the IBF lightweight title in two fights, meaning he’ll dethrone champion Raymond Muratalla in his next contest after he beats Mishiro tonight.