Richardson Hitchins Sides With Crawford Over Ennis — And He's Shared Rings With Both

Richardson Hitchins has an unusual piece of insider knowledge on one of boxing's most wanted fights, and he's using it to back Terence Crawford over Jaron Ennis. The 20-0 super-lightweight, ranked No. 2 in his division, has shared a ring with both men — he sparred Crawford at 17 before turning pro, and he lost to Ennis twice as an amateur back in 2015, at the Youth National Championships and the National Golden Gloves.

Speaking to Sean Zittel, Hitchins said Crawford is the only fighter who ever genuinely got the better of him in sparring. That was a teenage Hitchins against a 140lb undisputed champion — and the memory clearly stuck. For context, Crawford now sits at 42-0 (31 KO) and is coming off a unanimous-decision win over Canelo Álvarez, a result that makes a return genuinely tempting despite his December retirement.

The Four-Division Carrot

The hook for Crawford is history. Ennis, 36-0 with 32 knockouts and holding the WBA and WBO straps at 154, wants to be undisputed super-welterweight champion inside the next year. If he gets there, Crawford facing him would be a shot at becoming the sport's first four-division undisputed champion. That's the kind of prize that pulls a 39-year-old back off the couch.

Hitchins still rates the matchup as a good one and praised Ennis's speed. But his reasoning comes down to a comparison that's hard to ignore. He likened Crawford's professional traits — composure, movement, distance control, footwork — to Karen Chukhadzhian, the fighter who twice went the distance with Ennis and, by Hitchins's account, landed on him repeatedly.

The logic is simple math, in Hitchins's words. If Chukhadzhian gave Ennis fits with a Crawford-style toolkit but without the firepower, then Crawford — who Hitchins says looked sharp, smart and patient against Canelo — tilts the equation. He also noted Chukhadzhian lacks the offense Crawford brings, which is the whole difference between making a champion uncomfortable and actually beating him.

First, though, Ennis has business to handle. He's set to unify against IBF champion Josh Kelly in January, with Kelly carrying an 18-1-1 record and a recent majority-decision win over Bakhram Murtazaliev. Win that, and Ennis is one belt from undisputed — and one step closer to tempting a retired great out of the shadows.