Hitchins-Davis looks set Fury-Joshua chief support

Richardson Hitchins has indicated that his proposed welterweight fight with Keyshawn Davis could take place in Britain, adding to speculation that the matchup is being lined up for the undercard of Tyson Fury’s planned fight with Anthony Joshua in Cardiff.

Hitchins posted and then deleted a message on X suggesting that the two unbeaten Americans could be heading to Britain for the fight.

“Me and Keyshawn Davin should not be in England this fight should be in the united states but it is what it is,” Hitchins wrote.

Hitchins referred to England, although the Fury-Joshua fight is expected to take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. His post nevertheless appears to point towards the proposed all-American matchup being staged in Britain rather than the United States.

The message followed confirmation that Hitchins and Davis are in advanced talks to meet at welterweight later this year. Neither their fight nor a place on the Fury-Joshua undercard has been formally announced, and the two camps have yet to confirm that terms have been agreed.

Keith Connolly, Hitchins’ manager, has also suggested that the Fury-Joshua undercard could contain significant fights involving American boxers. He did not name Hitchins or Davis when discussing the card with talkSPORT, but teased one matchup involving two fighters in their prime.

“It’s going to be an amazing night,” Connolly said. “Don’t be surprised if you see some other major fights on that undercard. You can see a couple of big Americans on that undercard. There is a fight that fight fans will be shocked that both fighters are taking in their prime.”

Hitchins-Davis would fit that description. Both men are unbeaten and have recently moved towards the welterweight division after establishing themselves at lower weights. If added to the card, their meeting would likely be among the most prominent supporting fights.

Connolly has also mentioned Filip Hrgovic as a possible addition to the Fury-Joshua card following his victory over Moses Itauma. The cut Hrgovic suffered over his eye, however, could delay his return until early next year.

“As far as Hrgovic, there is a possibility he could be on that card,” Connolly said. “But the likelihood is that it will be the first quarter of next year.”

Fury and Joshua are expected to meet at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff in December, with organisers continuing to tease an announcement. Netflix is set to broadcast the event, which is being planned around a start time intended to accommodate viewers in the United States.

Hitchins calls it a ‘50-50 fight’

Hitchins has already acknowledged the difficulty of facing Davis and believes the winner should be considered among boxing’s leading pound-for-pound fighters.

“I think it’s a great fight,” he told FightHype. “A 50-50 fight. Two young, athletic fighters, Olympians, undefeated and former world champions. He’s a great fighter and I’m a great fighter. I think it’s a megafight. The winner of this fight should be on the pound-for-pound list.”

Hitchins, 29, won the IBF super-lightweight title from Liam Paro by split decision in December 2024 and stopped George Kambosos Jnr in his only defence the following June. Illness then forced him out of a scheduled defence against Oscar Duarte.

He subsequently vacated the belt, signed with Zuffa Boxing and moved to welterweight. In his first appearance at 147lbs, Hitchins outpointed Ricardo Salas in July, winning all 10 rounds on each of the three judges’ scorecards.

Davis, a silver medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, has yet to fight at welterweight. He stopped Denys Berinchyk to win the WBO lightweight title in February 2025 but was stripped before his planned first defence against Edwin De Los Santos after weighing 4.3lbs above the 135lbs limit.

The 27-year-old then moved to super-lightweight, where he defeated Jamaine Ortiz in January and Nahir Albright by unanimous decision in May. After another difficult weigh-in for the Albright fight, Davis said he intended to move up to 147lbs.

Davis steps away from Haney title route

A fight with Hitchins would give Davis a different route at welterweight after he withdrew from an ordered WBO title challenge against champion Devin Haney.

Top Rank won the purse bid with an offer of $8.55 million. Under the WBO’s proposed 75-25 split, Davis would have received approximately $2.14 million.

Bob Arum later said Top Rank had previously offered Davis $3 million for the Haney fight, while Davis was reported to be seeking a net purse of $5 million.

“Listen, I’m an old man. I don’t know what the thinking is. I don’t have any goddamn idea,” Arum told Fight Freaks Unite. “We went out and tried to make this fight for him because he shot his mouth off that this was the fight that he wanted. And when we made the fight he doesn’t want it.”

Before publishing his message about England, Hitchins said talks with Davis were progressing but made clear that the deal had not been completed.

“It gotta make sense,” Hitchins said. “As far as it’s looking, it’s making sense. Let’s see if we can get to the dotted line.”