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.
Results
Nishant Dev (2-0, 1 KOs) used his size and skills advantage to defeat the tough Mexican Josue Silva (3-3, 1 KOs) to win his second pro fight at junior middleweight. The 2020 Olympian Dev looked uncomfortable at times with the pressure that Silva, 32, was putting on him. The scores were 60-54, 60-54, and 60-54.
The unorthodox style of Silva seemed to throw Dev off, as he wasn’t able to track the weird angles that the punches were coming from. After the third and fourth rounds, Dev looked discouraged and visibly fatigued, taking deep breaths in his corner. In round five, Dev seemed to lose his cool, hitting Silva with a right-hand rabbit punch. It was a textbook rabbit punch from Dev, thrown with perfect form that should have resulted in a warning.
Silva looked at the referee and motioned that he’d been hit with a punch to the back of the head, but he did nothing. Dev seemed to lose his temper at this point and bum rushed with Silva, trying to knock him out. Silva expertly tied up the frustrated-looking Dev. You could see that by this point in the fight, Dev was angry because Silva was still fighting back, and hitting him with far too many shots for a fighter with his amateur background. It was a worrisome sign.
Silva went into survival mode in the final round, as he was tired and had given up trying to win. Dev focused on boxing and didn’t bother going for the knockout. All in all, it wasn’t impressive stuff from Dev. The performance showed that he’s a light years away from competing with the top junior middleweights, some of which are the same age as him. He’s 24, and there are many fighters in the division that age that have more physical tools.
“I feel great. I didn’t go for the knockout. What I’ve learned, I have to show in the ring and in the fight,” said Dev. “I’ve won in the world championship, so. I’m used to it. I’m still growing and going for another level. There’s no difference between amateur and professional boxing. I’m working on my skills and power. I’m not looking for the knockout. I want to get more exposure in professional fights and get a title shot.”
– Adam Maca (1-0, 1 KOs) destroyed Rafael Castillo (2-6, 1 KOs) in the second round TKO of a scheduled four-round fight in his pro debut at super bantamweight. Maca trapped Castillo against the ropes and unloaded on him with a flurry of shots to drop him in round two. Maca, 18, finished off Castillo with a follow-up barrage, prompting referee Arthur Mercante to step in and stop the fight. The time was at 1:29 of round two.
“I’m happy with the performance. He’s 18 years older than me, but I’m a strong kid,” said Maca. “I came out to see what he’s got in the first round, and I let loose in the second and got a second round stoppage. It felt unbelievable [to fight in New York]. This is what I should be doing. This is where I should be. I’m confident in my ability and confident with my team around me.
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.
Last Updated on 06/14/2025
2025-06-14 23:30:06
