# Maxi Hughes

Daniel "Maxi" Hughes (born 4 March 1990) is a British professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Assocation (WBA) Continental lightweight title since 2024. He held the International Boxing Organisation (IBO) lightweight title from 2021–2023. He has also previously held the British lightweight title, World Boxing Council (WBC) International lightweight title, and Central Area super-featherweight title. He has challenged, unsuccessfully, for the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) European lightweight title, WBC International super-featherweight and lightweight titles, and British super-featherweight title. He is currently #5 in the WBA world lightweight rankings.

## Professional career

Hughes made his professional debut on 17 September 2010, scoring a four-round points decision (PTS) victory against Johnny Greaves at the Doncaster Dome.
After compiling a record of 8–0–1 (0 KOs), he faced Scott Cardle for the vacant Central Area lightweight title on 20 April 2013 at Winter Gardens, Blackpool. In his first championship fight Hughes suffered the first defeat of his career, losing via PTS.
After four victories, Hughes was originally scheduled to face Joseph Laryea for the vacant International Masters super-featherweight title on 12 September 2014 at iceSheffield. After Laryea refused to fight on the scheduled date, he was replaced with Kakhaber Avetisiani. Hughes emerged victorious, winning his first championship via PTS over ten rounds.
He next faced Martin Joseph Ward on 6 December 2014. In a bout that served as an eliminator for the British super-featherweight title, Hughes scored two knockdowns–which Ward claims were the result of an accidental clash of heads and a slip–en route to a majority draw (MD). Two judges scored the bout even at 95–95 and 94–94, while the third judge scored it 95–94 in favour of Ward. The pair had an immediate rematch on 11 April at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, with the vacant WBC International super-featherweight title on the line. In the fifth round Ward landed an uppercut which left Hughes with a "badly damaged nose", prompting his corner to call a halt to the contest at the end of the round, handing Hughes a fifth-round stoppage defeat via corner retirement (RTD).
After three victories in non-title fights, Hughes and Ward–now the British super-featherweight champion–fought for a third time on 25 March 2017 at the Manchester Arena. Hughes suffered the third defeat of his career, losing via twelve-round unanimous decision (UD) with the judges' scorecards reading 118–111, 116–113 and 116–112.
In his next fight he defeated Ryan Moorhead via PTS, capturing the vacant Central Area super-featherweight title on 2 September 2017 at the Doncaster Dome.
Following a technical knockout (TKO) victory against Cassius Connor in November 2017, Hughes made his second attempt at the British championship, facing Sam Bowen for the vacant title on 14 April 2018 at the King Power Stadium in Leicester. Hughes took a knee twice in the seventh round. At the beginning of the eighth, referee Victor Loughlin called a time out to allow the ringside doctor to examine an injury to Hughes' right eye. After the doctor determined Hughes' was unable to continue, Louglin called a halt to the contest, handing Hughes an eighth-round TKO loss.
He bounced back from defeat with a TKO victory against Kieron McLaren in July 2018, before suffering the fifth defeat of his career on 9 November 2019, losing via UD against Liam Walsh in a bout for the vacant WBO European lightweight title at the York Hall in London.
Three fights later he fought undefeated prospect Viktor Kotochigov for the WBC International lightweight title on 9 October 2020 at the Caesars Palace in Dubai. In what media outlets described as an "upset", Hughes scored a knockdown in the third-round en route to a UD victory with the judges' scorecards reading 97–92, 96–93 and 95–94.
In his next fight he faced Paul Hyland Jr for the vacant British lightweight title on 19 March 2021 at the Whites Hotel in Bolton. In what was considered by media outlets as a "controversial" decision, Hughes emerged victorious via eighth-round TKO. Hughes landed a punch to the body of Hyland, causing him to bend over in pain. After referee Mark Lyson initially ordered Hughes to a neutral corner, believing Hyland had touched the floor, Hyland turned his back and walked to the opposite corner. Lyson then corrected his mistake and signalled Hughes to resume the action, at which point, he ran across the ring and landed a right hand on Hyland with his back still turned. Hyland fell to the floor, prompting Lyson to begin a ten count. He made it back to his feet by the count of nine only for Lyson to call a halt to the contest, awarding Hughes the British title in his third attempt.
Following his British title victory, Hughes made his first attempt at a world championship; facing Jovanni Straffon for the lightly-regarded IBO lightweight title on 4 September at the Headingley Rugby Stadium in Leeds. Serving as part of the undercard for Josh Warrington vs. Mauricio Lara, Hughes won a wide UD with two judges scoring the bout 120–117 while the third scored it 119–109.
On March 16, 2024 in Las Vegas, Hughes faced the undefeated William Zepeda in a WBA lightweight title eliminator. Zepeda won the fight via stoppage in four rounds.
On December 14, 2024, in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Hughes defeated an "outclassed" Gary Cully via unanimous decision to win the WBA Continental lightweight title, in what was described by Eddie Hearn as a "world-class performance."

## Professional boxing record

| 37 fights | 28 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 6 | 3 |
| By decision | 22 | 4 |
| Draws | 2 | 2 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 37 | Win | 28–7–2 | Gary Cully | UD | 10 | 14 Dec 2024 | Salle des Étoiles, Monte Carlo, Monaco | Won WBA Continental lightweight title |
| 36 | Win | 27–7–2 | Efstathios Antonas | TKO | 6 (6), 1:02 | 27 Sep 2024 | Park Community Arena, Sheffield, England | |
| 35 | Loss | 26–7–2 | William Zepeda | RTD | 4 (12), 3:00 | 16 Mar 2024 | Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 34 | Loss | 26–6–2 | George Kambosos Jr | MD | 12 | 22 Jul 2023 | Firelake Arena, Shawnee, U.S. | Lost IBO Lightweight title |
| 33 | Win | 26–5–2 | Kid Galahad | MD | 12 | 24 Sep 2022 | Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, England | Retained IBO lightweight title |
| 32 | Win | 25–5–2 | Ryan Walsh | UD | 12 | 26 Mar 2022 | First Direct Arena, Leeds, England | Retained IBO lightweight title |
| 31 | Win | 24–5–2 | Jovanni Straffon | UD | 12 | 4 Sep 2021 | Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds, England | Won IBO lightweight title |
| 30 | Win | 23–5–2 | Paul Hyland Jr | TKO | 8 (12), 1:20 | 19 Mar 2021 | Whites Hotel, Boston, England | Won vacant British lightweight title |
| 29 | Win | 22–5–2 | Viktor Kotochigov | UD | 10 | 9 Oct 2020 | Caesars Palace, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Won WBC International lightweight title |
| 28 | Win | 21–5–2 | Jono Carroll | UD | 10 | 12 Aug 2020 | Production Park Studios, South Kirkby, England | |
| 27 | Win | 20–5–2 | Kris Pilkington | PTS | 4 | 22 Feb 2020 | Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England | |
| 26 | Loss | 19–5–2 | Liam Walsh | UD | 10 | 9 Nov 2019 | York Hall, London, England | For vacant WBO European lightweight title |
| 25 | Win | 19–4–2 | Kieron McLaren | TKO | 4 (10), 2:42 | 6 Jul 2019 | Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England | |
| 24 | Loss | 18–4–2 | Sam Bowen | TKO | 8 (12), 0:02 | 14 Apr 2018 | King Power Stadium, Leicester, England | For vacant British super-featherweight title |
| 23 | Win | 18–3–2 | Cassius Connor | KO | 4 (10), 1:55 | 25 Nov 2017 | Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England | |
| 22 | Win | 17–3–2 | Ryan Moorhead | PTS | 10 | 2 Sep 2017 | Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England | Won vacant Central Area super-featherweight title |
| 21 | Loss | 16–3–2 | Martin Joseph Ward | UD | 12 | 25 Mar 2017 | Manchester Arena, Manchester, England | For British super-featherweight title |
| 20 | Win | 16–2–2 | Fonz Alexander | PTS | 6 | 16 Apr 2016 | First Direct Arena, Leeds, England | |
| 19 | Win | 15–2–2 | James Fyers | SD | 10 | 6 Feb 2016 | Europa Hotel, Belfast, Northern Ireland | |
| 18 | Win | 14–2–2 | Abdon Cesar | PTS | 6 | 23 Oct 2015 | Devonshire Dome, Buxton, England | |
| 17 | Loss | 13–2–2 | Martin Joseph Ward | RTD | 5 (10), 3:00 | 11 Apr 2015 | First Direct Arena, Leeds, England | For vacant WBC International super-featherweight title |
| 16 | Draw | 13–1–2 | Martin Joseph Ward | MD | 10 | 6 Dec 2014 | York Hall, London, England | |
| 15 | Win | 13–1–1 | Kakha Avetisiani | PTS | 10 | 12 Sep 2014 | iceSheffield, Sheffield, England | Won vacant International Masters super-featherweight title |
| 14 | Win | 12–1–1 | Qasim Hussain | TKO | 2 (4), 1:03 | 9 May 2014 | iceSheffield, Sheffield, England | |
| 13 | Win | 11–1–1 | Imre Nagy | TKO | 3 (8), 1:29 | 7 Feb 2014 | iceSheffield, Sheffield, England | |
| 12 | Win | 10–1–1 | Andy Harris | TD | 5 (6), 1:22 | 13 Dec 2013 | iceSheffield, Sheffield, England | Fight stopped after Harris cut from accidental head clash |
| 11 | Win | 9–1–1 | Michael Mooney | PTS | 6 | 4 Oct 2013 | Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England | |
| 10 | Loss | 8–1–1 | Scott Cardle | PTS | 10 | 20 Apr 2013 | Winter Gardens, Blackpool, England | For vacant Central Area lightweight title |
| 9 | Win | 8–0–1 | Andrejs Podusovs | PTS | 6 | 30 Nov 2012 | Magna Centre, Rotherham, England | |
| 8 | Win | 7–0–1 | Ibrar Riyaz | PTS | 6 | 28 Sep 2012 | Magna Centre, Rotherham, England | |
| 7 | Win | 6–0–1 | Ivan Godor | PTS | 6 | 8 Jun 2012 | Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England | |
| 6 | Draw | 5–0–1 | Ronnie Clark | PTS | 4 | 2 Mar 2012 | Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Bheki Moyo | PTS | 4 | 10 Jul 2011 | Beachcombers Club, Cleethorpes, England | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Youssef al-Hamidi | PTS | 4 | 4 Mar 2011 | Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Graham Fearn | PTS | 4 | 22 Jan 2011 | Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Kristian Laight | PTS | 4 | 3 Dec 2010 | Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Johnny Greaves | PTS | 4 | 17 Sep 2010 | Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England | |