NEW YORK — Richardson Hitchins handled George Kambosos Jr. just as easily Saturday night as the unbeaten IBF junior welterweight champion promised.

With Teofimo Lopez seated ringside and Bill Haney shouting instructions to Kambosos, a relaxed, sharp Hitchins boxed brilliantly, picked apart the former unified lightweight champion with jabs and right hands and finished him with a body shot that abruptly ended their 12-round, 140-pound title fight in the eighth round in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

A dominant Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) blasted Kambosos with a left to the body that sent him to the canvas. Kambosos made it to his feet before referee Michael Griffin counted to 10, but he sensed the challenger couldn’t continue and ended the fight.

Winning inside the distance was especially important for the heavily favored Hitchins, who had drawn criticism for not taking risks and comfortably boxing to 12-round decision victories.

“I been telling the boxing world I’m the truth,” Hitchins told DAZN’s Chris Mannix in the ring. “If you don’t know, now you know. I been telling the boxing world that I was coming and they shoulda listened, so now I’m here.”

Kambosos (22-4, 10 KOs), of Sydney, Australia, lost by knockout for the second time in his career, 13 months after Vasiliy Lomachenko stopped him in the 11th round of their IBF lightweight title fight at RAC Arena in Perth.

Hitchins, 27, made his first defense of an IBF belt he won when he defeated another Australian, Liam Paro, by split decision Dec. 7 at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Kambosos, 31, fell to 2-4 since he upset Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) by split decision to win the Ring, IBF, WBA and WBO lightweight titles in November 2021 at The Theater.

An aggressive Hitchins backed Kambosos into his own corner early in the eighth. He landed a left uppercut in an exchange, but Kambosos took that shot well.

Hitchins’ jab was effective before his brutal body shot ended the fight.

“I seen the fight with him and Devin Haney,” Hitchins said. “I knew that Devin Haney didn’t really take it inside and he was headhunting a lot when he did have him hurt. So, I said I’m gonna touch him with some short shots. When I did touch him with a short shot, I seen how he squinted. And I smelled blood, but I just wanted to keep punishing him. And I told his dad, ‘If you love your son you’ll stop the fight.’ So, he was tough. He was a true competitor, but I was just the better man tonight.”

Kambosos credited Hitchins for his superb performance and acknowledged that he is in the class of the other top opponents he fought — Lopez, Haney and Lomachenko.

“He’s a hell of a fighter,” Kambosos said. “They’re all great fighters. I chase greatness. I really believed in myself, but I just didn’t have that timing. He was a little bit too good for me tonight.”

Hitchins’ punch output in the seventh wasn’t as high as in prior rounds, though he remained in complete control.

He picked up in the sixth right where he left off in the fifth, taking target practice as Kambosos attempted to come forward.

Hitchins hurt him with a right hand when there was just about a minute to go in the fifth. Kambosos absorbed an array of power punches as Hitchins attempted to finish him, but he fought back just enough to keep his foe honest and made it to the sixth.

An accurate Hitchins dominated toward the end of a one-sided fourth round as Kambosos couldn’t avoid the right hand or his jab.

They traded right hands with a little less than a minute into the third. Hitchins built more momentum when he caught Kambosos with yet another right and then a stiff jab.

A short, left hook by Hitchins connected a few seconds before the bell sounded to end the second round. His jab kept Kambosos from getting inside.

Kambosos landed a left hook with just under 1:45 to go in the opening round. Hitchins wasn’t fazed by that punch, kept fighting from a comfortable distance and landed an overhand right.

That first right hand was an indication of what was to come from Hitchins, who lewdly called out Haney (32-0, 15 KOs, 1 NC) during his post-fight interview.

“Great performance,” Eddie Hearn, Hitchins’ promoter, said. “George is a warrior, but that’s what you need from Richie, to come out, step on the gas after the domination. Sometimes he would just let that coast to 12 rounds. He came out, dominated, great performance.

"That is the statement he needed to mix with these guys [Lopez, Haney]. Great atmosphere tonight, great performance from a great, young American champion. Time for him to get the big fights.”