Richardson Hitchins Vs. Oscar Duarte Predictions – ‘He Will KO Him’

February 18, 2026

3 weeks

Richardson Hitchins Vs. Oscar Duarte Predictions

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Richardson Hitchins defends his IBF Junior Welterweight belt against Oscar Duarte, as pros picked their winner.

The undefeated Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) enters the ring looking to solidify his status after a strong 2025. Hitchins claimed the IBF crown in December 2024 with a split-decision win over Liam Paro in Puerto Rico. He followed that by returning to New York in June 2025, where he dismantled former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr. with a dominant eighth-round TKO.

Duarte enters his first world title opportunity riding a four-fight winning streak that has proved he belongs at the top level. Duarte became the first man to stop the former world champion, Joseph “JoJo” Diaz, securing a 9th-round TKO in April 2024. In his most significant result to date, Duarte edged out Kenneth Sims Jr. via a majority decision.

Pre-Fight

“This is the fight to prove that his performance against George Kambosos wasn’t a fluke. This is going to show that he is the type of fighter that is supposed to be mentioned amongst the elites – the Shakur Stevensons, Devin Haneys, the Teofimo Lopezes, Terence Crawfords, those guys. With the Lemos fight, he had a lot of stuff going on in his mind, which was like a distraction. That Lemos fight was a good fight to prepare him for this kind of fight. This kid has evolved. Duarte is not Lemos. They put on different pressure and mechanics,” Lenny Wilson (Hitchins’ trainer) said