Richardson Hitchins has been pulled from tonight's co-main event at The Ring: High Stakes in Las Vegas, leaving Oscar Duarte without his first world title opportunity just hours before the show was set to begin at T-Mobile Arena.
The Ring Magazine announced the withdrawal on fight day. The reported reason is illness, though no further details have been provided about Hitchins' condition.
The timing made it all the more stunning. On Friday, Hitchins made weight alongside Duarte and faced off at the ceremonials without incident. That evening, he posted to social media that he was just "1 sleep away," then followed up Saturday morning with a story saying "Go time, 21-0 real soon." Hours later, the fight was off.
Duarte had also been active on social media in the hours before the cancellation, re-sharing photos with family and appearing fully prepared for the biggest night of his career. The Mexican contender (30-2-1) now misses out on both the IBF super-lightweight title shot and a massive payday on a high-profile Las Vegas card.
The reaction on social media was swift and harsh toward Hitchins. One post on X suggested he would need to stay off the platform for a while; others called him the "most cap" man in boxing given his confident posts leading up to fight day. Hitchins had been inactive since his eighth-round TKO of George Kambosos Jr. in June and was set to make just the second defense of his IBF title tonight.
Some fans offered a more sympathetic read, pointing to the IBF's rehydration clause as a potential factor. Under IBF rules, fighters can only weigh a maximum of 10 pounds more on fight day than they did on the morning of the official weigh-in — a restriction that has become increasingly controversial and has caused issues for champions at multiple weight classes.
The main event between Ryan Garcia and WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios remains on schedule. Stay tuned to MMA News for live results and post-fight coverage from Las Vegas.