Ernesto Mercado Calls Richardson Hitchins A ‘Fake Champion’

Light welterweight contender Ernesto Mercado says he sees IBF 140-lb champion Richardson Hitchins as a “fake champion.” He doesn’t like how Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) targets Australian fighters rather than fighters from the U.S., like himself.

Hitchins won his IBF belt off Aussie Liam Paro last December. Now, he’s defending it against another Australian, George Kambosos Jr., on June 14th at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. Mercado (17-0, 16 KOs) is fighting on the undercard against Jonathan Montrel (19-3, 13 KOs) in a 10-rounder. The event will be shown live on DAZN.

Mercado Blasts “Fake Champ”

“I don’t know him. Just the way he runs his mouth, he’s a perpetrator, said Ernesto Mercado to Thaboxingvoice about Richardson Hitchins. “He acts like he’s this type of guy, but he’s not that kind of champion. He’s talking like, ‘Oh, I called this guy out.’ No, you don’t, bro. When you were supposed to fight [Subriel] Matias, you backed out. You let [Liam] Paro go over there [to Puerto Rico and] take the hit.”

Hitchins, 27, definitely ducked the Matias fight, which continues to make him look bad to this day. He should have taken that match. There’s no other way to look at it other than Richardson getting cold feet, and not wanting to mix it up with the former IBF 140-lb champion Subriel. Hitchins’ decision to defend his belt against Kambosos rather than one of the other contenders at light welterweight was the wrong move, because he just arrived to 140 and has only fought once in the weight class.

“Now, he’s [Hitchins] fighting two Aussies. Why the f*** is he fighting two Aussies. Come on,” said Mercado about Hitchins fighting Liam Paro last December and now defending against George Kambosos Jr. on June 14th.  “All he’s targeting is these Australian dudes. I’m asking for it. How you don’t fight nobody from the States? And then Kambosos. Really?”

Hitchins’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, may have had something to do with him choosing to defend against Kambosos Jr. because he promotes him. This is was Hearn’s only belt-holder at 140 that he has control over. So, having Richardson defend against Kambosos was his way of making both of his Matchroom fighters happy. It’s not like Hitchins would have been pleased if Hearn had chosen Ernesto Mercado or Elvis Rodriguez for his first defense of his IBF belt.

“Are we being serious? Everybody knows that Kambosos sucks,” said Mercado. “So, I feel that he’s just a fake a** champion. I feel like once I get the opportunity to fight him, and seeing that I’m fighting for an IBF [North America light welterweight] belt, I want him to know I’m coming for his a**. When I see him over there, I’m definitely going to let him know.”

Kambosos’ 2-3 record in his last five fights tells you all you need to know about his suitability as a challenger for Hitchins. He shouldn’t have been picked out as his opponent for a title defense, because it sends the message that failure is rewarded. Success is ignored. Fighters like Mercado get ignored, whereas Kambosos is given a title shot for failing his way to the top.

“He’s just a fake a** champion, claiming he owns New York,” Mercado said about Hitchins. “Nobody even knows him in New York. He claims he’s from the trenches. He’s not from no trenches. He’s just musty as f***. That’s really all it is. I never thought Kambosos was good. You can’t take credit away from him for that win over Teofimo, but Kambosos is a guy that you fight getting to a world title, not to defend it against.”

Why Hitchins Chose Kambosos

Richardson’s fighting style has a Shakur Stevenson element to it. He’s definitely not a brawler or someone who will stand and engage for any length of time. That’s why he was booed for his fights against Jose Zepeda and John Bauza. Interestingly, Hitchins thinks that he’s going to gain a lot of attention by beating Kambosos. He says this fight will make him known to fans, and open doors for him. This is not the type of opponent that Hitchins needs to get noticed.

“And seeing how Kambosos just moved up to 140, how in the f*** is he a mandatory? The s*** don’t make sense. It’s all politics. And then seeing it in that regards, it’s even worst,” said Mercado when told that Kambosos is a voluntary defense for Richardson. Why does he want to fight him out of all the 140 guys? It makes no sense.”

He chose Kambosos for these reasons:

1. Not a threat
2. Well known
3. His promoter wanted him to
4. Showcase purposes

What Hitchins should have done is fight Mercado, Matias, Rodriguez, or give Liam Paro a rematch. if he beat one of those guys, fans would take notice and it might cause Turki Alalshikh to show interest in using him for one of his cards.

“If they were fighting in Australia, I would see the value in that, but they’re fighting in New York. Nobody even knows him in New York,” said Mercado when told that Hitchins is likely fighting Kambosos because it’s a ‘money fight.’ “If they were fighting in Australia in that arena they got, but Hitchins is just trying to keep his belt, man. He knows he’s going to get it taken away from him. The way I see it,” said Mercado.

Kambosos has lost so many times in the last three years that he likely has worn out his welcome fighting in Australia in front of his people. The large crowd that Kambosos pulled in for his first fight against Devin Haney in 2022 will have shrunken dude to his three defeats in the last three years. Going back to Australia now would have meant fighting in front of a tiny crowd. It wouldn’t have been worth it.