GRADES: RICHARDSON HITCHINS, GUSTAVO LEMOS, DIEGO PACHECO & MORE

By: Jay Calderon

Last weekend, we were spoiled with what felt like a few fights every day of the week. This week? Not so much.

Still, thanks to DAZN, we did have a card out in Las Vegas, headlined by the close encounter between rising Jr. Welterweight star Richardson Hitchins and Gustavo Lemos. On the undercard, we also had Super Middleweight Diego Pacheco pick up a win over the tougher-than-expected Shawn McCalman, and Gal Yafai continue to rise up the rankings with a win over Agustin Gauto at Flyweight.

So, no more need to ramble. Let's hand out these grades:

RICHARDSON HITCHINS
RESULT: DEF. GUSTAVO LEMOS, 12UD (JR. WELTERWEIGHT)
GRADE: C+
While you can sit and argue about whether or not Richardson Hitchins did enough to win his bout with Gustavo Lemos. Ultimately, the judges decided and the American remains undefeated. However, what might have also been decided is that HItchins might still need a bit of work before taking that final step to the top of the sport.

Early in the contest, Hitchins just couldn't seem to get going and struggled with the relatively simple approach Lemos was implementing. Certainly, Hitchins improved as the fight progressed. Still, he never quite got his usual work done.

Typically, Hitchins is a smooth operator that works behind a jab, and sets the tempo. As the fight builds, he gets more active and effective as the rounds wear on. Here, Richardson had to fight for every inch, unable to control the action like usual.

While one could argue that, perhaps, Hitchins overlooked his foe and won't make similar mistakes in those prominent fights. However, regardless, either he wasn't mentally prepared or he wasn't physically prepared. Either way, this will need to be improved.

Hitchins got away with one here, but it will need to be better in the future if he is to be successful.

GUSTAVO LEMOS
RESULT: LOSS TO RICHARDSON HITCHINS, 12UD (JR. WELTERWEIGHT)
GRADE: B
Typically, I'm not going to give the defeated fighter a better grade than the winner. Even if both do pretty well, that just doesn't seem fair most of the time. However, every rule has an exception.

While Richardson Hitchins got the official nod, many believed Gustavo Lemos had done enough to earn the win. But that's not the reason he's getting the higher mark. Lemos is getting the higher mark because of the expectations one has prior to the contest.

Heading into this contest, few were giving the Argentine native in Lemos much of a shot. While an unbeaten fighter himself, Lemos was expected to make it tough for a bit, but ultimately succumb to the skills of the American. However, no one gave Lemos that script.

Especially early on in the contest, Lemos was the far more effective fighter and seemed to be rattling the confidence of Hitchins more often than not. While his effectiveness faded down the stretch, you can't disagree with the idea that Lemos far exceeded most people's expectations prior to the encounter.

As is often the case with the sport, it's hard to say if Lemos gets a chance to (re)prove himself. Fingers crossed, he gets another bite at the apple.

DIEGO PACHECO
RESULT: DEF. SHAWN McCALMAN, 10UD (SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT)
GRADE: B-
Well, it wasn't his best performance by any means, but Diego Pacheco will certainly be a better fighter for his close decision win over Shawn McCalman.

After starting out rather slow and letting McCalman likely steal a few relatively slow rounds, Pacheco realized he wasn't going to win a boxing match from the outside. Instead of sticking with what wasn't working, Pacheco opted to get inside and make it more of a dog fight.

To his credit, McCalman made it tricky the entire fight, landing crafty shots on the inside and holding and tussling when Pacheco was looking for exchanges. However, Pacheco seemed to do the more effective work down the stretch.

Obviously, things will get trickier for Pacheco, but he seems to be taking small steps towards the bigger goal. He wasn't calling for a title shot next, just looking for someone in the top ten. At this point, that sounds like the right move for Pacheco.

GAL YAFAI
RESULT: DEF. AGUSTIN GAUTO, 8TKO (FLYWEIGHT)
GRADE: B+
If we learned anything from Gal Yafai's win over Agustin Gauto, it's that the former can take a decent punch. However, while you know an up and coming prospect will have to answer that question from time to time, you hope it's not several times in the same fight -- and not the same shot over and over again.

Throughout the contest, the out-skilled Gauto managed to land the looping shots against Yafai, a 2020 Olympic gold medalist, particularly the right around the guard. And while obviously skilled, Yafai seemed to either be unable to stop it or u bothered by it landing. Either way, not a great thing to see in a fighter on the rise.

Clearly, Yafai has tremendous skills, showing his movement and angles off while he touched up his foe seemingly at will for much of the contest. I also applaud Yafai for knowing when to put a bit more into shots or take something off of them as well. In the eighth, when sensing the end was near, Yafai put his shots together very well and forced the referee to make the call. All of that should be commended.

Still, against some of the better potential foes at 112 pounds (or even 115 pounds as Yafai is a massive Flyweight that may soon move up), he will need to make himself a little less available to being tagged.

LINKS:

- SCHEDULE & ODDS

- RESULTS

-