Ricardo Salas Wants to Hand Richardson Hitchins His First Loss at MSG

Ricardo Salas is a betting underdog on Sunday night, and he's fine with that. The 27-year-old from Mexico City meets former super lightweight world champion Richardson Hitchins at the Infosys Theater inside Madison Square Garden, and he's promising to end Hitchins' unbeaten run. Hitchins walks in at 20-0 with 8 KOs, ranked #2 at 140, fresh off an eighth-round TKO of George Kambosos Jr.

Salas isn't short on momentum himself. He's on a 10-fight unbeaten streak with seven knockouts in that stretch, and his Zuffa Boxing debut at Zuffa Boxing 04 ended with an eighth-round TKO of Jesus Saracho. That performance was enough to earn him a multi-fight deal. Now he's asking Hitchins to make the jump up to 147 and pay for it.

Fighting at the Garden

The venue matters to him. Salas said fighting inside the Garden — where generations of boxers have built their legacies — is exactly the kind of stage he wants, and that competing there fuels him as a Mexican fighter. It's a step up from his last outing at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, and he's leaning into the history of the room.

The stylistic contrast is the whole story here. Hitchins is the technician: slick defense, sharp footwork, plenty of work on the inside. Salas is the pressure fighter who'd rather trade in the pocket than dance on the outside. He described himself as a boxer who likes to clash head-on, and said his camp has drilled specifically to neutralize what Hitchins does best.

Embracing the Underdog Role

There's also the underdog thing, which Salas clearly relishes. He's never lost on American soil, and he's picked up wins as the smaller name on the card before. He said he intends to keep the streak alive and win by any means necessary — a line that reads less like bravado and more like a plan.

For Hitchins, the risk is obvious. He's chasing bigger fights and titles, and a loss to a debut-adjacent Mexican welterweight in his home state would scramble that. For Salas, it's the kind of night careers pivot on. He's promising a war, and betting his aggression can crack a defense that hasn't been solved in 20 pro fights.