But he doesn’t believe the unbeaten WBO welterweight champion is man enough to get in the squared circle with him.

“I feel like Haney don’t wanna fight me,” Hitchins said on the newest episode of the “Mr. Verzace Podcast,” released Wednesday by The Ring. “I wanna fight him so bad. I’m at 147 now and after this fight, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be calling my name or trying to make the fight happen.”

Just last year, fighting Haney didn’t seem realistic since Hitchins planted his flag at 140 pounds. After dropping his IBF junior welterweight strap to move up seven pounds, they compete in the same division.

Ricardo Salas will introduce Hitchins to the welterweight world July 26 at Infosys Theater in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) is a heavyweight favorite entering his Zuffa Boxing debut, a fight the 2016 Olympian wants to use to shed some ring rust. The New York native hasn’t fought since his eighth-round stoppage of George Kambosos a year ago at the same venue.

Hitchins believes that an impressive win against Mexico’s Salas (24-2-2, 18 KOs) should land him the Haney fight, but he’ll likely need to get in line.

Haney (33-0, 15 KOs, 1 NC), a three-division champion from Henderson, Nevada, was recently ordered to make a mandatory title defense against Keyshawn Davis, the No. 1 contender for his WBO belt.

Hitchins has never explained the reasoning behind his hatred of Haney. He did, however, reveal that the multi-divisional star isn’t as good as people think he is.

“I just feel like it’s smoke and mirrors,” Hitchins said. “The guys he fought are good, like I do respect him a lot for the Lomachenko win. I feel like he dug deep, but other than that, I feel like all the guys he fought – from Brian Norman to Regis Prograis to George Kambosos – were C-class fighters.”