Light heavyweight contender Willy ‘Braveheart’ Hutchinson 18-1 (13) scored the biggest win of his career with clear-cut unanimous decision victory over Craig ‘Spider’ Richards 18-4-1 (11) at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
The bout was the opener of the 5v5 card pitting Queenberry Promotions boxers against fighters from the Matchroom Boxing stable.
There was plenty of bad blood in the lead up to this fight and the spite carried over into the ring but it was the younger boxer who ultimately prevailed by scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 119-109.
Hutchinson entered the fight three years removed from his lone loss, a fifth-round knockout at the hands of Lennox Clarke in March 2021. The 25-year-old Scotsman bounced back with four fights for four knockout victories, but the question was whether he was ready for a boxer of Richards’ calibre, a former world title challenger who lost a close decision to WBA 175-pound champion Dmitry Bivol in May 2021.
The answer was an emphatic ‘yes’.
Hutchinson took advantage of Richards’ slow start, boxing from both the orthodox and southpaw stances to good effect. He keep the pressure up through eight rounds and asked questions of Londoner Richards’ 34-year-old legs.
Hutchinson had promised all week that he would knockout Richards, but the older man wouldn’t budge. In the last four rounds of the contest Richards drew on his experience to steal some rounds against the tiring Hutchinson, who had never previously heard the bell to end the seventh round.
In the end, youth was served.
In the ring after the fight, Hutchinson promised that this was just the beginning.
“What have I not going for me?” Hutchinson said. “I’m young, hungry and handsome and I’m ready to take over the world. Look at me.
“I’ve been through so much, I’ve had a hard life and I’ve rose to the top. Thank you for Frank Warren for believing in me.”
Before the bout, Hutchinson said he was looking to make it an early night, but Richards, who had never been stopped in his three previous losses, proved to be too stubborn for that.
“I’m focused, I’m looking forward to getting in there on Saturday night and knocking this feller unconscious,” said Hutchinson.
“He’s been saying a bit too much for my liking. I’m just ready to put this man asleep and all these clowns that keep talking a load of rubbish. They don’t know boxing. I’m gonna sleep this fella.”
Richards felt that Hutchinson was being moved too fast.
“I feel like Willy Hutchinson is not on my level,” said Richards. “I have to separate the levels come Saturday night and show I belong on the top level and separate the difference between me and him.”
That assessment proved to be drastically wrong.
