Boxing
Maxi Hughes Plans Steel City Revival
The road to success in boxing is full of obstacles and Maxi Hughes knows this better than anyone.
His road to Las Vegas, where he was supposed to fight the undefeated and brutal Mexican William Zepeda in March, was made even more hard by a paperwork error that cost him valuable time and forced him to travel thousands of air miles for the upcoming fight.
Lightweight Hughes travelled from Doncaster to Sin City two weeks before his date with Zepeda, only to be sent straight back to the UK by Homeland Security agents who told him his ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) did not allow him to be paid to work in the US. They turned out to be wrong, but not before Hughes flew back to London, then to Belfast for a meeting with the US consulate and, once his right to fight was confirmed, back to the States.
William Zepeda and Maxi Hughes
All of this took up the better part of a week, meaning Hughes had to say goodbye to his acclimatisation and most of his preparation for his last fight. However, in a testament to his character outside the ring that matches his reputation in the ring, Hughes refused to give up and does not blame the situation for the defeat that followed.
“I could operate that as an excuse and pull out of the fight,” he says. “But I chose to go in there to fight, so I feel like I can’t operate that as an excuse. It would have been postponed because it was a fight that the WBA and IBF ordered. So I had the right to pull out, but I put so much into it.
“It was my body that gave out. My mental state was good. I kept telling myself, ‘It’s going to be okay, you have enough strength to beat Zepeda, this travel thing and everything that happened won’t wear you down.’ But it ended up doing a little bit of that.”
The frustrations surrounding Zepeda’s preparation and fight were compounded by the feeling that if not for the controversy surrounding his previous competitions, it could have turned out very differently.
In July 2023, Hughes lost a controversial decision to George Kambosos Jr. in an IBF lightweight eliminator. Kambosos moved on to box Vasiliy Lomachenko for the IBF title on home soil in Australia. While Hughes is reluctant to explain his defeat of Zepeda (l rtd 4), Kambosos’ decision still doesn’t sit well with him – especially in the context of what could have been.
Maxi Hughes and George Kambosos trade blows in Oklahoma
“I’m not saying I would beat Lomachenko, because he’s probably one of the best in this era,” Hughes says. “I just would love the opportunity. My goal was to fight for one of the four major titles and if that was the end of it, that would be my chance, and they took it away from me from a business perspective.” [in Hughes’ opinion] because they wanted to go to Australia.”
Lomachenko dominated Kambosos in May, stopping him in the 11th round in Perth. “It was frustrating watching George because he didn’t belong there and he had no chance of winning,” Hughes says. “That was obvious; he just filled in. Whereas I feel like I’m not saying I could beat Lomachenko, I have better feet, I know how to box a lefty, I can be cautious and cunning. I like to think I could have made it very hard there and had a better chance.”
Two consecutive losses, one controversial and one painful, haven’t dampened Hughes’ desire, though. Boxing News asks him if, at 34, he’s considered giving up on a career that currently stands at 26-7-2, 5 KOs. “I always knew I was going to keep going,” he says. “Don’t get me wrong, it hurt and it was tough, but it wasn’t enough to make me give up.
“I still have my goals. I’m focused on fighting for one of the four major world titles or just fighting for more money. I know I’m still a world-class fighter and I have something to offer. I still feel like I’m at the top of my game.
“If I felt like I was slipping and not being able to perform in training, I’d like to think I’d be open and straightforward with myself and say, ‘yes, your time is up.’ But because I’m still feeling good, I figured there’s money to be made and there’s no way I’m going back to the construction sites. I’ll stick to boxing for now.”
Hughes is due to fight a six-round boxing bout in Sheffield on September 27, when he will appear at the GBM event at the Park Community Arena, where he will face Shakiel Thompson, Tysie Gallagher and Hughes’ team-mate Reece Mould.
“I’m elated to box anywhere, I don’t care what card I’m on,” he says. “The nice thing is it’s close to home in Yorkshire and I can get more people there.”
With GBM being one of the up-to-date faces on the British promotional scene, Boxing News asks if Hughes’ involvement is a one-off or part of a longer-term partnership. “I wouldn’t rule anything out,” he says. “I’m grateful that Izzy [Asif, founder] and GBM gave me a chance. I signed with Lou DiBella, who doesn’t have any broadcasting deals. My last two fights, one was on Golden Boy and one was on Top Rank. Even though Lou is not my promoter, he is more of an advisor or manager, so he is the one who goes out looking for fights. I can end up on any show, which is not a bad thing because it opens doors.
“I feel like my skill level is high enough that I can get it [a world title shot]but again, it’s about whether the business side of things works out. It’s about whether Lou DiBella can get me a chance to fight for one of them. He’s a well-connected guy and very good at his job; he’s been in the game a long time. If anyone can do it, he can support me get there.
“It’s the first step next month. I’m not going to take it lightly, even though it’s a six-round fight. At this point in my career, every fight is tough. I’m going to want to go in there and do a really good job and look good. It’s my first step – I have to win so I can get back into title fights or eliminations – but whoever I get [for a title shot]“I would be written off again!”
With just six days to go until his next fight, Hughes will be at Wembley Stadium on September 21 for the UK season debut in Riyadh, headlined by Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois. He will be there for two reasons – firstly, to support his stablemate Josh Warrington, who will be fighting Anthony Cacace for the IBF super featherweight title, and secondly, to keep an eye on his potential rival and try to work his way back into the gigantic world.
“The other fight in this bill that interests me is Mark Chamberlain’s fight [against Josh Padley]. At some point he has to prove himself. I like Mark; he’s a nice guy and I talk to him sometimes. He just fights whoever is in front of him. But as a domestic fight, maybe an eliminator, it’s something that could happen as soon as I have another fight at the end of September.
Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, which is behind the Riyadh Season, will be in London and Chamberlain is one of his favourite players – a fact that did not escape Hughes’ notice.
“It would be nice to go in there and get a piece of that pie,” he says.
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