THE collapse of his rematch with Gervonta Davis has created several new options for Lamont Roach Jr, including a rather surprising matchup against Richardson Hitchins.
It previously seemed that the 30-year-old was set to collide with Davis earlier this month, only for a series of events to see ‘Tank’ land an exhibition with Jake Paul.
As a result, Roach, 25-1-2 (10 KOs), has been denied the opportunity to improve on his draw, which arrived as a highly controversial result in March, against Davis.
But despite not securing his most desirable option, ‘The Reaper’ has nonetheless been presented with a selection of appealing matchups ahead of his next outing.
One of which happens to be a potential dustup with Shakur Stevenson, the WBC world lightweight champion, in what would surely deliver a high-octane encounter.
Only, with Stevenson confirming that his next outing is likely to take place at the beginning of 2026, perhaps Roach would be more eager to secure a fight before this year comes to a close.
One possibility, which has seemingly come from way out of left field, is a fight with IBF world super-lightweight champion Hitchins, 20-0 (8 KOs), who called out Roach via social media just yesterday.
“Since [there are] no big fights out there for you [Roach], and [because] the fights we wanted fell through, I respect you as a fighter and believe you deserve another big fight,” Hitchins wrote on X.
“Let’s run it for my 140[lb] title. NY [New York] vs DC [Washington].”
In response, Roach said: “Now you talking my language.”
Hitchins comes off a destructive eighth-round stoppage victory over George Kambosos Jr who, in truth, represented a match made in heaven for the slick technician.
Prior to that, the Brooklyn man claimed his IBF strap with a dominant performance against Liam Paro, only for the judges’ scorecards to reflect a much closer contest.
Roach, meanwhile, still holds the WBA world super-featherweight title, and despite moving up to 135lbs for his last outing, a fight with Hitchins – naturally, the far bigger champion – would be a bold test indeed.
