“You’re going to get put unconscious, you are,” Willy Hutchinson told Craig Richards in a fiery backstage exchange in Saudi Arabia.
“You’re not a bad boy, you’re a clown,” said Richards.
“I’m badder than you. You’re getting knocked unconscious.”
From almost nowhere this week, the light-heavyweights have been niggling one another, and Richards believes Hutchinson is talking himself up to mask his insecurities.
Hutchinson comes across as bullish, but does he believe it or is it a bluff? We will likely get to find out on Saturday night in Riyadh when they meet as part of the 5 x 5 bill pitting five Matchroom boxers against five from Queensberry Promotions.
Needle might not mean much at this stage, but the fighters have been increasingly prickly towards one another.
Richards is sure Hutchinson is stepping up too far too soon, while the Scot believes he is stepping over Richards and towards a world title.
The two division leaders at 175 dominate the weight like no other in boxing; Artur Beterbiev and Dmitrii Bivol were due to headline this showpiece event but Beterbiev suffered a horrible knee injury and will be out for several months instead.
Bivol still takes his place on the bill, but the chasing pack at 175 is a good distance behind, with the likes of Joshua Buatsi, Anthony Yarde, and division newcomer David Benavidez with a considerable gap to bridge, even if they could find themselves in title fights in the next 12 months.
The lone loss Hutchinson experienced in the pros came to Lennox Clarke three years ago. It was a jarring, hurtful and shocking stoppage featuring a heavy knockdown. Hutchinson maintains the only problem that night was the weight. In his 18 fights, it is the only bout he has made super-middleweight for. It was a shot at the British and Commonwealth titles, but it did not pay off.
The Scot is only 25, has never gone beyond seven rounds but he’s quick, counters sharply with the right hand and generally moves his head well.
He can be caught jumping in at times, and that is something the measured, calculated veteran Richards will be ready for.
When Richards stopped another Scot, Boris Crighton, in good fashion in his opening fight under new trainer Shane McGuigan in February, the 34-year-old Richards made an important statement in his first fight for almost two years.
In his three outings beforehand, Richards had lost to Bivol (115-114, 115-113 and 118-110), stopped Marek Matyja in six and was outscored by Buatsi (116-112 and two cards of 115-113).
Richards then found his way to McGuigan, who is enthused about his new charge and convinced he can grab a slice of the action at 175.
“The Spider” will have to make sure his low left does not provide Hutchinson with too many open invitations, and if it becomes a battle of the jab, then Richards’s more solid and consistent approach could stand him in good stead.
But Hutchinson, formerly trained by Dominic Ingle but now with Mirko Wolf, will likely present problems with his handspeed unless Richards carries the power to make Hutchinson reluctant coming forwards.
They are clearly polar opposite personalities, with the excitable Hutchinson trying to get under the skin of the more composed Londoner.
Richards has not just mixed in the superior class, however; Hutchinson has not been anywhere near this level before, either. Picking Hutchinson would be based almost exclusively on what he was supposed to do when he turned pro as a hot prospect rather than what he has displayed thus far.
Richards is a tough nut to crack. He is happy swapping shots in close, but might be better served using his experience more than his brawn in Riyadh.
He will give Hutchinson his best chance at victory if he gets drawn into anything out of character, and that’s perhaps been why Hutchinson has been so vocal this week, in a bid to disrupt Richards’ mindset.
There is, however, little evidence that Richards will bite, not just because of his own character but because of the presence of McGuigan in the corner. They’ve seen this all before and high stakes bouts tinged with bad blood are nothing new to the stable.
As the fight draws nearer, elements of doubt for previews can enter your mind. The oddsmakers make Richards a slender but clear favorite and that is understandable.
It is hard to go against him, but Hutchinson has attributes that Richards could struggle with unless he is able to do what Lennox Clarke did.
The pick, however, is for Richards to win in the final third, although Hutchinson will have given his all before ultimately running out of ideas and being cut down.
Other 5 x 5 previews
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