{"id":459855,"date":"2026-03-06T01:39:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T01:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/459855\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T01:39:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T01:39:13","slug":"oscar-duarte-targets-cinco-de-mayo-return-after-hitchins-withdrawal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/459855\/","title":{"rendered":"Oscar Duarte Targets Cinco De Mayo Return After Hitchins Withdrawal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=boxing247.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" style=\"display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center;&#010;            width:140px; height:40px; overflow:hidden;\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"660\" height=\"208\" alt=\"Add East Side Boxing as a preferred source on Google\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770669047_552_google.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>  <\/a><\/p>\n<p>  <a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKAgKIiJDQklTRXdnTWFnOEtEV0p2ZUdsdVp6STBOeTVqYjIwb0FBUAE?ceid=US:en&amp;oc=3&amp;hl=en-US&amp;gl=US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" style=\"display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center;&#010;            width:140px; height:40px; overflow:hidden;\"><br \/>\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"468\" height=\"128\" alt=\"Follow East Side Boxing on Google News\" style=\"height:100%; width:auto; display:block;\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/follow-google-news.png\"\/><br \/>\n  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p>The light welterweight bout was called off shortly before it was scheduled to take place when Hitchins withdrew due to illness. The late cancellation ended Duarte\u2019s opportunity to challenge for the IBF title and left his training camp without a fight after weeks of preparation.<\/p>\n<p>Duarte said the situation was frustrating but added that his focus has already turned toward securing another fight as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m very disappointed, of course, because there was a lot of sacrifice and a lot of training throughout the entire camp,\u201d Duarte said in an interview with ESPN KnockOut. \u201cBut these things happen in boxing. The important thing now is to keep moving forward. I want to come back as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Mexican puncher said his preferred date is May 2, which falls during the traditional Cinco de Mayo weekend, a period that historically features major bouts involving Mexican fighters.<\/p>\n<p>Duarte said he hopes the return can come in a meaningful fight that keeps him in position to pursue another world title opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m waiting for confirmation, but I want to return on May 2,\u201d Duarte said. \u201cIt\u2019s Cinco de Mayo weekend, and I want to be in a big fight, something important, to show that I\u2019m still here and ready for anyone. I want a big fight against someone at a high level so I can fight for a world title again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Duarte also thanked supporters in Mexico and his hometown of Parral, adding that the cancellation increased his determination to return soon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo all my people in Mexico, in Parral, and to my fans, thank you for the support,\u201d Duarte said. \u201cSee you soon in the ring, and it will be with a victory.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The light welterweight bout was called off shortly before it was scheduled to take place when Hitchins withdrew&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459856,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-459855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}