The title fight between Richardson Hitchins and Oscar Duarte is confirmed, along with three other matchups, for the undercard of Mario Barrios vs Ryan Garcia. The event, titled The Ring: High Stakes, takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on February 21.
Brooklyn native Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) makes the second defense of his IBF super lightweight title following an eighth-round stoppage victory over George Kambosos Jr. last June. Mexico’s Duarte (30-2-1, 23 KOs) makes his first attempt to become a champion and aims for his fifth consecutive win since being stopped by Ryan Garcia in late 2023.
The previously reported bout between WBA super lightweight champion Gary Antuanne Russell (18-1, 17 KOs) of Capitol Heights, Maryland, and Japanese challenger Andy Hiraoka (24-0, 19 KOs) has been confirmed for the event.
Detroit native Frank Martin (19-1, 13 KOs) is back in the ring, taking on Philadelphia’s Nahir Albright (17-2, 7 KOs) at super lightweight. Martin is fresh off a KO victory over Rances Barthelemy last December, while Albright took a majority decision over Kelvin Davis last June.
Additionally, Bektemir Melikuziev (16-1, 10 KOs) of Uzbekistan faces Sena Agbeko (29-4, 23 KOs) of Ghana at super middleweight. Melikuziev earned a unanimous decision over Darius Fulghum last May, while Agbeko has not fought in over a year, since knocking out Pierre Williams in the first round in November 2024.
In the main event, San Antonio’s two-division champion Mario Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) makes the third defense of his WBC welterweight title against Ryan Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs, 1 NC) of Victorville, California.
The official announcement of the undercard was made on Tuesday, following a kickoff press conference held last week.
The current Barrios vs Garcia lineup is as follows:
- Mario Barrios (c) vs. Ryan Garcia, WBC welterweight title
- Richardson Hitchins (c) vs. Oscar Duarte, IBF super lightweight title
- Gary Antuanne Russell (c) vs. Andy Hiraoka, WBA super lightweight title
- Frank Martin vs. Nahir Albright, super lightweight
- Bektemir Melikuziev vs. Sena Agbeko, super middleweight