Richardson Hitchins has accepted responsibility for the mistakes he made while dropping down beneath the junior welterweight limit of 140 pounds prior to his last fight.

The Brooklyn-bred contender concedes ,he should've been more professional and proactive about his weight before boxing Argentina's Gustavo Lemos on April 6 in Las Vegas. Making weight 24 hours earlier before meeting the 150-pound limit for the IBF's mandated second weigh-in the morning of their 12-round bout hindered Hitchins when they fought at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

The 2016 Haitian Olympian outpointed Lemos unanimously (117-111, 115-113, 115-113), but his performance left him open to criticism because Lemos made their IBF elimination match thoroughly competitive.

Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs) learned his lesson and applied it to training camp for his shot at IBF 140-pound champion Liam Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) on Saturday night in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The skillful challenger expects to make weight much more comfortably Friday for their DAZN main event at Robert Clemente Coliseum (7 p.m. ET; 4 p.m. PT).

Between more comfortably coming in at 140 pounds or lower, and meeting his second-day requirement easier, Hitchins is confident he will perform much better against an Australian southpaw who upset Puerto Rican power puncher Subriel Matias (21-2, 21 KOs) to win his IBF belt June 15.

"Richardson Hitchins wins this fight by showing he's a world-level fighter, like I've done every other," Hitchins told The Ring. "My last fight, a lotta criticism came, people seen it close. I don't believe that I lost but think it was definitely an experience to show me you do everything right as a professional, especially with nutrition and listening to the right people, making weight the right way. I said that's why I gotta respect Liam because he's one of them guys, he's not gonna f--- off.

"Like with me in my last fight, it was like, 'I'mma eat whatever I want and I'm not doing the IBF [second-day weigh-in].' My manager, Keith [Connolly], was like, 'No, we gotta be professional. You gotta lose the weight the day before the fight.' So, this fight I came in more experienced, more seasoned. I'm doing everything right. So, like I said, for me to win the fight it's not by any means necessary. It's by showing I'm at a world-class level. Liam never been in the ring with an opponent like me. I'mma say it now, and he will be saying it after the fight."

Paro, 28, is The Ring's No. 3-rated boxer in the junior welterweight division. Hitchins, 27, is listed eighth among The Ring's top 10 at 140 pounds.