The former IBF junior welterweight champion took to social media this week to celebrate a seemingly impossible financial milestone for the kid growing up in Brooklyn.
They used to call me dirty, but they won't say I'm dirty now that I'm a millionaire. My neck is icey and my wrist is expensive. Hallelujah That kid selling candy at the train station has fulfilled his dreams All I have to do now is keep going Thank you god 🙏🏾
— Richardson Hitchins (@HeIsRichardson) May 31, 2026
No one can take that success away from him. Boxing is a brutal business and very few fighters make it to the point where they can call themselves millionaires. Hitchins has fought his way up from the ranks to a world title and recently landed a lucrative deal with Zuffa Boxing. Criticism is not about money.
Hitchins became a millionaire before answering the biggest questions of his career. While fighters such as Gary Antuanne Russell, Subriel Matias, Ernesto Mercado, Andy Hiraoka, and Keyshawn Davis were discussed as the most dangerous threats at 140 pounds, Hitchin was able to navigate almost all of them. He maintained his undefeated record, won a world title, and turned that shiny “0” into financial security.
That is why his celebration on social media came in a different way to other fans.
Hitchins sees a kid who sells candy at train stations and becomes a millionaire by boxing. Critics see a fighter who has reached the pinnacle of the sports business without taking on fights that would have settled the disputes surrounding him. The strange thing is that his post proves that this strategy worked.
An undefeated champion is more valuable than a fighter who takes losses due to taking serious risks. Hitchins protected his market value, stayed in position for title chances, and arrived in lucrative free agency. The prize was a huge deal with Zuffa Boxing and a path to even bigger paydays.
What is interesting is that Hitchins signed with Zuffa at the same time as Edgar Berlanga. In many ways, these two works tell the same story. Berlanga was a millionaire before he was forced into the deep waters of the game. He got the big purses, the main events, he got the Canelo Alvarez fight, and then he started losing when he fought the big opponents. Hitchins followed a similar business plan, albeit at a different stage.
Supporters will argue that he owes no one an apology for that. Boxing is about fighting for prizes. The goal is to maximize earnings while taking the least amount of damage possible. If a fighter can become a millionaire and go undefeated, most managers would call that a perfect result. The problem is that many fans still view boxing through the lens of competition rather than money.
They wanted to see the Hitchins against Matias. They wanted to see him against Russell. They wanted to see him against Mercado, Hiraoka and Keyshawn. Instead, the conversation has already shifted to the welterweight division, where names like Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, and Conor Benn offer far bigger purses than any of the dangerous fighters they leave behind. Those are the types of fights that can generate life-changing income without consequence.
The question that fans always ask is whether Hitchins would have reached this point if he had been compared to the old style. If he had spent the last few years fighting the most dangerous villains in the division instead of defending his undefeated record, would he still be a millionaire today? No one can answer that.
Hitchins has reached millionaire status while several of the class's most dangerous names remain off his record.
