Madison Square Garden will play host to a world title fight tonight as Richardson Hitchins and George Kambosos Jr go toe to toe.
Hitchins comes into the fight undefeated in his 19-bout career and will defend his IBF light-welterweight title for the first time.
He won that title by beating Liam Paro in Puerto Rico in his previous fight, and will now look to preserve it just a few miles from where he grew up.
Kambosos Jr is the more experienced fighter, having entered six more bouts than Hitchins, but has a far from perfect record. He has lost on three occasions, once by knockout.
The pair are not on strong terms ahead of their meeting. Hitchins branded his opponent a ‘D-class’ fighter in the build-up, to which Kambosos responded by promising to beat him ‘in his own back yard’.
He said: “Hitchins is not on my level., I ain’t got s**t to lose. You’ve never been in the ring with anyone close to George Kambosos Jr.”
He doubled down as the pair met outside the arena, making a joke of the fact that few locals seemed to recognise Hitchins, born and raised in Brooklyn.
“We did have a nice face-off outside the arena,” he said in an interview. “I was trying to tell all the New Yorkers walking past, ‘It’s Hitchins, your champion.‘ But no one really paid attention. I was getting noticed, and a few people said, ‘It’s Kambosos.'”
The pair will settle their differences between the ropes tonight.
How to watch Hitchins vs Kambosos
TV channel and live stream: The event will be broadcast live exclusively on DAZN.
A subscription to the platform currently starts from £14.99 a month in the UK.
Coverage will begin at 12am BST on Sunday, June 15.
