Oscar Duarte was not only screwed out of a title fight but will now have to wait in line for his next first opportunity.
BoxingScene has confirmed that the IBF has called for Richardson Hitchins, its 140lbs titlist, to next defend against mandatory challenger Lindolfo Delgado. The two sides were contacted on Tuesday and will have 30 days to reach terms and avoid a purse bid hearing.
Hitchins, 20-0 (8 KOs) is managed by Keith Connolly. Delgado, 24-0 (16 KOs) is with Top Rank, with manager Rick Mirigian and trainer Robert Garcia navigating his career behind the scenes and in the gym, respectively.
The development came just three days after Hitchins fell ill at the 11th hour of his eventually canceled clash with Mexico’s Duarte, 30-2-1 (23 KOs). The two were due to meet in the February 21 co-feature to Ryan Garcia’s WBC 147lbs title-winning effort over Mario Barrios at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Hitchins and Duarte both weighed in right at the 140lbs limit on Friday, and complied with the IBF same-day safety check on Saturday morning. IBF-sanctioned bouts require participants to weigh no more than 10lbs above the contracted limit on the day of the fight.
Shortly after the session, Hitchins went to refuel with a team breakfast. It was at that point when he began to feel nauseous and spent the rest of the day what was described by his team as “projectile vomiting.” Too weak and ill to do really anything at all, the obvious call was made to pull him from the fight.
The late fallout left Duarte without a fight, as there was not any time left to secure an emergency opponent.
Hitchins previously secured the fight as a last-ditch effort to avoid having to commit to his mandatory title defense. His team finalized terms just within the period allotted for a voluntary defense, but that time frame has since elapsed.
That meant Delgado was next up in line, to the chagrin of his frustrated countryman.
Delgado, a 2016 Olympian for Mexico, became the mandatory challenger after a disputed split decision victory over Guadalajara’s Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela. Their November 15 battle saw Delgado survive a 12th round knockdown to win 114-113 on two scorecards, overruling a 114-113 card in favor of Gollaz.
The win came seven months after Delgado similarly struggled with the Dominican Republic’s Elvis Rodriguez in a majority win last April 5 in Las Vegas.
Hitchins – who also fought in 2016 Rio, representing his parents’ native Hait - claimed the IBF junior welterweight title in a December 2024 win over Liam Paro in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Just one defense has followed thus far, an 8th round stoppage of former lineal and unified 135lbs champion George Kambosos last June 14 at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City.
Meanwhile, Golden Boy is exploring an emergency contingency plan for Duarte as he waits in line for his owed – but, unfortunately, not mandatory – title fight. There are loose whispers that he could land a slot on the May 2 Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez-David Benavidez undercard in Vegas. Ideally, he’d like to fight sooner; Golden Boy’s only other show on the schedule is March 14 in Anaheim, California.
Duarte has not fought since an August 2 points win over Kenneth Sims Jnr in the latter’s hometown of Chicago, Illinois.
