The slick, quick technician picked apart overmatched Ricardo Salas to win a shutout decision in his 10-round welterweight debut on the Zuffa Boxing 09 card Sunday night at Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden.

The judges were in agreement afterward, as Max DeLuca, Ken Ezzo, Frank Lombardi all scored it 100-90 in favor of Hitchins.

The fight followed a consistent theme, as Hitchins (21-0, 8 KOs) dominated Salas (24-3-2, 18 KOs) by jabbing beautifully and following with crisp, accurate power shots that largely went unanswered.

Salas was game, never giving up. The Mexican simply didn't have the tools to cope with a boxer of Hitchins' skill and athleticism.

The only true sustained success for Salas came in the opening three minutes. His pressure was relentless, forcing Hitchins to remain in retreat mode until he got comfortable. After that, it was all Hitchins.

The only thing Hitchins failed to do was score a knockout, although injuring his hand mid-way through the fight played a role that.

Hitchins now has a chance to place his name among some of the best fighters in the world at 147 pounds, a spot he often owned during his time as a junior welterweight.

The 28-year-old’s run at 140 was eventually truncated after defending his IBF crown against George Kambosos in June 2025, when he decided to move up.

The proud New Yorker attempted to get another title defense under his belt against Oscar Duarte before that decision on the undercard of Ryan Garcia vs. Mario Barrios in February, but was forced to pull out just hours prior because he said he had an illness.

Hitchins has stated repeatedly that he wants to meet Devin Haney, The Ring’s No. 1 welterweight and WBO champion. Hitchins has also expressed a desire to revisit a fight against Duarte.