Keyshawn Davis Tells Richardson Hitchins to “Stop Acting Scary” After Duarte Withdrawal

Davis questions IBF champion’s appetite for gritty opponents at 140 pounds

Keyshawn Davis is publicly questioning whether IBF champion Richardson Hitchins wants to face pressure fighters. The comments follow the cancellation of Hitchins’ scheduled bout with Oscar Duarte.

The cancellation of the Duarte fight pushed Davis from irritation to accusation, as he does not accept the explanation and sees it as another example of Hitchins being careful about the kind of opponent he agrees to face.

“If you’re not scared, stop acting like it,” Davis said. “He don’t like no gritty fighters.”

Davis referenced Subriel Matias and himself, arguing that when the opponent brings pressure, volume, and physical grind, Hitchins tends to go in another direction. Duarte is not a safety-first opponent. He walks forward, throws in combinations, and forces exchanges whether you want them or not. Matias built his name by dragging opponents into hard rounds and keeping them there, and Davis is placing himself in that same conversation.

He also questioned how the Duarte situation was handled, saying that if weight or rehydration was the concern there were still ways to keep the fight on. In his view, once a dangerous opponent is signed, the expectation is to go through with it rather than look for alternatives, and that is the standard he says he applies to himself.

He looked at his own run for proof. Gustavo Lemos comes forward behind a tight guard and slings heavy hooks. Edwin De Los Santos lets his hands go in combinations and makes you pick shots off your gloves or take them clean. There was no room to coast in either fight. Davis had to set his feet, trade at mid-range, and take punches to give them back.

He has said Richardson Hitchins can box, manage range, and collect rounds when he dictates the pace with his jab. Davis is asking what happens once that space disappears. When a man steps inside the jab, works the body, and makes it a fight in the pocket, the conversation changes. Talent gets you noticed. The fights you sign tell the rest.

At 140 pounds, those decisions shape how the division moves. The weight class includes punchers and pressure fighters who do not allow long stretches of comfort. If Davis is correct, certain matchups will continue to circle without landing. If he is wrong, he has positioned himself to be called out for it.

By saying it out loud, Davis has boxed Hitchins into a corner of his own. The next move will be watched closely inside the division. If Hitchins signs for a pressure fighter and stands his ground, that answers it. If he circles toward a safer style matchup, people will draw their own conclusions. Either way, the choice now lives in the open.