Richardson Hitchins knows exactly who he wants to get his hands on in 2026.

Just a few short days ago, the IBF 140-pound champion went face-to-face with Keyshawn Davis at Madison Square Garden. After skipping the pleasant greetings and replacing them with curse words and threats, Hitchins told his new rival that they can settle things in the ring.

“We can make it happen in 2026,” Hitchins told Davis. “We can make it happen.”

For Davis, his 2025 started fantastically. In New York’s Theater at Madison Square Garden on February 14, he scored a violent knockout over Denys Berinchyk. In doing so, he won the WBO lightweight title.

Davis (13-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) was then set for a hometown title defense against Edwin De Los Santos on June 7 at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. However, Davis came in 4.3 pounds over the 135-pound limit, prompting De Los Santos’ handlers to pull him from their fight.

Since then, Davis has remained sequestered on the sidelines, but he did reveal that he’ll now compete in the junior welterweight division.

As for Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs), he took home his first world title a few months prior to Davis when he dethroned Liam Paro a year ago at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The 28-year-old Hitchins defended his strap against George Kambosos Jr. on June 14 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden, stopping his man in the eighth. He’s slated to return to the ring in the first quarter of 2026.

When it comes to Hitchins and Davis, the two have known each other for years. They’ve spent countless rounds sparring one another while attempting to push each other to the next level. With that said, much of Hitchins' confidence in a possible future matchup stems from those old sparring sessions.

“I been beating him up since he was a kid,” Hitchins continued. “Imma smoke him.”