Photos: Richardson Hitchins drops & stops George Kambosos Jr to retain title

Richardson Hitchins came out on top on June 14 when he faced George Kambosos Jr. at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. Battling it out in the main event, the Brooklyn native defeated his opponent from Australia via eighth-round TKO, sending him to the canvas along the way.

Although Kambosos got back on his feet, referee Michael Griffin waved the fight off. The official time of stoppage was 2:33 into the round.

With the victory, Richardson Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) made his first successful defense of the IBF super lightweight title. Post-fight, the unbeaten 27-year-old called out former undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney.

31-year-old former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. (22-4, 10 KOs) didn’t succeed in his attempt to win a title in his second weight class.

On Hitchins vs Kambosos undercard

In the co-feature, Andy Cruz (6-0, 3 KOs) of Cuba stopped Japan’s Hironori Mishiro (17-2-1, 6 KOs) in the fifth round at lightweight. With the win, Cruz, who dropped Mishiro twice in the third round, won the IBF lightweight title eliminator. The referee waved the fight off at 1:13 into the round.

Cruz is now expected to challenge Raymond Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) of West Covina, CA, who was recently elevated to full champion after Vasiliy Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) of Ukraine announced his retirement.

Among other Hitchins vs Kambosos results, Australia’s Teremoana Jnr (8-0, 8 KOs) dominated Aleem Whitfield (9-1, 6 KOs) of Geneva, NY to secure the win via TKO. The heavyweight bout was halted at 2:28 into the first round.

In the main card opener, Zaquin Moses (4-0, 3 KOs) of Newark, NJ dropped and stopped Carl Rogers (3-3) of Columbia, MO in the fourth round at super featherweight. The time was 1:51 into the round.

Atop the prelims, Nishant Dev (2-0, 1 KO) of India defeated Mexico-based Josue Silva (3-3, 1 KO) by unanimous decision at super welterweight. After six rounds, all three judges scored the fight 60-54.

Kicking off the action, Adam Maca (1-0, 1 KO) of the UK made a successful pro boxing debut, defeating Rafael Castillo (2-7, 1 KO) of The Bronx, New York via second-round TKO. The official time of the stoppage was 1:29 into the round.

The scheduled eight-round bout between Pablo Valdez (9-0, 8 KOs) of New York and Cesar Diaz (9-1, 4 KOs) of Peru has been canceled during the event. Matchroom Boxing announced that the Commission deemed Diaz unfit to compete due to a medical issue, and the welterweight matchup was called off.